


True Night

by LuckyLadybug



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Castles, Death, Family, Friendship, Gen, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Puzzles, Trapped, Yami no Game | Shadow Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-07-11 06:59:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 48,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15967103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyLadybug/pseuds/LuckyLadybug
Summary: Inspired by Bad End Night. Post-series, my Pendulum Swings verse. Everyone begins regaining memories of a dark time when Yami Marik harmed Bakura and then gave the others a cruel chance to save him: by playing a dark Shadow Game where time resets whenever they fail.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The characters are not mine and the story is! This is part of my post-series Pendulum Swings verse. I hope it won't be too confusing because of that; I've tried to explain important things within the story. Most of my YGO stories I don't post here because I have a huge continuing timeline that's on fanfiction.net and it would be pretty complicated re-posting all the old multi-chapters here, but I hoped maybe this one would work out being posted here. The most important things to know are that Yami Bakura is back post-series, he has a separate body generated by a new item, the Infinity Ring, if he agrees to try to be good, he and Bakura have become very close since then, and Atem has also returned because he missed Yugi and the others too much and he was allowed a rare second chance to come back. I read the novel version of Bad End Night and found it very plunnying. I wanted to write a YGO fic inspired by it. There are certainly some plot similarities, but also differences too—I hope enough to make it clearly its own thing.

_He was running down the street, fighting off tears that insisted on falling. He blinked, but they only came all the more._

_He was tired of this. So tired and frustrated and hurt. The words from the others were still ringing in his ears, as well as his responses. He had just gone into the Turtle Game Shop, looking for some cards and wanting to see the others, hoping they could have a friendly conversation, and instead . . . instead . . ._

_They had all been standing there when Bakura had entered. They had froze in place, as though they were criminals caught in the process of planning a crime. Uncomfortable, Bakura had looked from one to the other and finally spoke._

_"Have I intruded on a private conversation?"_

_They had all looked at each other._

_"Bakura, we all got together and we decided we're still worried about you living with that guy," Tristan had said. "We just can't trust him."_

_For a moment Bakura had stood there dumbly, his mouth not working, just staring at the group in shock. So much had happened since then, and Yami Bakura was just getting better from Yami Marik having tortured him, and now this?_

_Yugi had actually looked a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Bakura," he had said. "I know you said that he saved you when you met that serial killer the White Death. . . ."_

_"And he did!" Bakura had cried, shaking himself out of his daze._

_"Yeah, but maybe he had an ulterior motive for doing it," Tristan had said. "Just think about it! He always did before."_

_"You don't really know why he did all of the things he did," Bakura had retorted. "And honestly, why is there so much concern now? Why is it that an ancient spirit has to be involved before anyone pays me the slightest bit of attention?!"_

_Everyone had flinched._

_"Bakura . . ." Téa had stammered. "It's . . . it's not like that. . . ."_

_"You only think about me when Yami is causing trouble, or when you think he's going to," Bakura had said. He hadn't known where all those bottled-up feelings of pain and hurt were coming from, but now that the dam had broke, he couldn't hold it back. Nor had he wanted to._

_"Hey!" Joey had cried. "That is absolutely not true!"_

_"So how many times did you invite me to do things with you, either before or after Yami left?" Bakura had shot back. "I can count them on one hand. And I was never invited on your adventures. Oh, I understand, you were either too worried about what Yami would do or I was out of sight, out of mind for you. And had you asked, I probably would have said No in order to protect you from Yami. But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt that I wasn't even asked. Yami paid more attention to me than any of you did. And now that he's back and is trying hard to be good, he is still the one with whom I am the closest."_

_"And that's another reason why we're worried," Joey had spoke up. "You're around him so much, what the heck are you going to be picking up from him?"_

_Tristan had nodded. "You've always been a nice guy, Bakura, but if you're mixing with him all the time, maybe some of his personality is going to rub off on you. None of us want to see that."_

_"And it's not possible that some of my personality could rub off on him?" Bakura had shot back. "I have learned from him, it's true. But I've learned to stand up for myself, not how to be vengeance-driven." His voice lowered. "Anyway . . . I can't say I think he's entirely wrong on his thoughts of vengeance, and I thought that long before I ever met him."_

_That had stunned the others into silence._

_"Bakura," Téa had stammered, and then hadn't known how to continue._

_"I've shocked you, haven't I?" Bakura had said. "Well, I can't blame you. I never showed you that side of my personality before. I didn't think you'd understand. I suppose I was right."_

_"If we could just talk . . ." Tristan had finally found his voice again._

_Bakura had started to turn away. "I do appreciate your concern for me. But quite frankly, I don't think any of you have the right to hold a committee meeting on what to do about Yami and me as though you can up and take care of the problem! He hasn't hurt any of you and he's not going to. Therefore, it's not your business and you don't have the right to make it so, thank you very much!" And he had turned, running out of the Game Shop._

_"Bakura!" Tristan had yelled. "Bakura, wait!"_

_Yugi hadn't budged. "You know, guys," he had said quietly, "he really has a point. Me and Téa weren't really in on this, Tristan. You and Joey were just talking on your own and then you came over here to talk to us about it."_

_"But you were worried too, Yug," Joey had protested._

_"I know I was," Yugi had said, "and part of me still is. But I've seen how Yami Bakura has rallied from being around Bakura after Yami Marik broke him. I don't think he could have come back to himself like that if he didn't really love Bakura. Bakura's right, we don't have the right to try to interfere with that."_

_Bakura had heard that, but it hadn't made him want to go back. He just wanted to get home._

_"I never would have thought things would be this way," he said softly to no one. "I wanted him gone so much. Yet when he was gone, I wanted the silence to go even more. And it didn't . . . not until he came back. Now, we've become so close. I know I love him. And all I want now is to get back to him."_

_The last thing he expected was for Yami Marik to suddenly appear in his path, veins bulging and eyes bloodshot with his anticipation. "Is that so?"_

_Bakura stumbled to a halt, his heart racing. "Oh! Oh my. . . ."_

_"What's this I hear?" Yami Marik taunted. "Trouble in paradise? Well, let's see what we can do to make it worse, shall we?"_

_Bakura took a step back. "No! I won't let you!"_

_"You don't have a choice." A ball of dark energy formed in Yami Marik's hands. And even as Bakura frantically turned and ran, it struck him in the back and he went down. The last thing he heard was the fiend's mad cackling . . . and everyone else screaming as he fell._

****

Yami Bakura sat in the living room windowseat, pondering. It was his favorite place to think, and right now he had a great deal to think about.

Everything had changed so much. _He_ had changed so much. . . .

When he had first come back to Bakura, literally in tatters from Zorc being pulled free of his spirit after three thousand years, he had been hurt and confused, not really understanding who he was anymore and still feeling prideful despite it all. At least, prideful enough to continue denying his love for Bakura.

Or was it pride, really? He had been genuinely perplexed at his feelings during the White Death mess. He hadn't remembered what it was to love.

He was still a gruff soul, of course. Prideful too, at times. But Yami Marik had all but stripped that pride away during those long days of torture and torment. Yami Bakura had had no choice but to be at Bakura's mercy for his recovery. He had had to admit that he couldn't do it alone.

Something had changed between them then. They had recognized each other as brothers. Their last walls of defense had come down and they had embraced those roles.

He was more open now. He freely admitted what he had once denied and not understood: his love for the boy. In turn, Bakura trusted him with all his heart and soul. He was strong, standing up for his loved ones.

They were a strange pair, but genuine.

"Yami?"

He looked up with a start. Bakura was coming into the room from upstairs. He looked downright shaken.

"What is it?" Yami Bakura frowned.

Bakura came and sat next to him, his hands on his knees. "I . . . I know it's ridiculous," the boy said softly. "I just had a terrible dream. But what's far worse is that it . . . really doesn't feel like it was a dream. . . ."

"Well, what on Earth was it?" Yami Bakura demanded.

Bakura shifted. "It seemed to have happened several months ago, after you recovered from Yami Marik torturing you. Yugi and the others . . . well, they got together to have a meeting about what to do about you, Yami, and about me letting you live here. I stumbled on it and they started talking to me, and . . . well, I got so angry I finally blurted out a lot of horrible, hurtful things that I'd been keeping inside. Then I turned and ran out, and . . . I ran right into Yami Marik. He . . . he shot me down with some kind of dark energy." He looked down. "It was terrible."

Yami Bakura stared at him, stunned. "None of that could have happened," he objected. "We would remember it."

"I know that's logical." Bakura nodded and leaned back, but he still looked troubled. "I just have this horrible feeling, though. . . . It just keeps feeling like it was a memory, not a dream."

"That's nonsense," Yami Bakura grunted.

Bakura tensed. "You'd tell me if it really happened, wouldn't you, Yami? I know you like to try to hold things back if you think it would be too upsetting for me to hear."

"If it really happened, Bakura, you would see it in my eyes," Yami Bakura insisted. "I wouldn't be able to restrain myself from showing my hatred towards that demon."

The boy began to relax. "Yes, that makes sense," he agreed. "Thank you, Yami. I'm sorry that I troubled you."

Yami Bakura scowled. "You didn't."

Only now he was more shaken than he was willing to admit. Bakura's story did hit something in his heart. Something about it did feel real, for some reason. It felt like he knew it was true, somewhere inside himself, but he couldn't for the life of him draw out the memories.

Bah, now he knew how Duke must have felt when he started regaining memories of a life he didn't remember. But this couldn't be like that. The gem Duke had used to reset the past was gone. It couldn't have been used to heal Bakura and wipe memories of them and everyone else.

Anyway, he was really getting paranoid, wasn't he? _Bakura tells me a nightmare and I think it's true? Of all the asinine, inane, foolish . . ._

He trailed off. His heart was hurting now.

He looked to Bakura, who was gazing off into the distance and seemed lost to everything around him. _That demon likes making me believe I've lost him. But I haven't, blast it! He's right here. He's fine. And he's going to stay fine._

"We were all trapped."

Bakura spoke so suddenly that Yami Bakura was jarred out of his thoughts. "What?!"

"In a dark shadow of . . . somewhere. Was it Kaiba's mansion? The Castle of Dark Illusions?"

". . . Dark Sanctuary," Yami Bakura whispered. "The castle of Dark Sanctuary."

Bakura jumped a mile and spun around to face him. "You do remember, Yami!" he cried. "It was real!"

Yami Bakura looked back at him, shaken. "It can't be real. It can't be. . . ."

"Well . . ." Bakura tried to smile. "Even if it is, it's all over now, isn't it? It doesn't matter anymore."

"It must matter or it wouldn't have happened," Yami Bakura retorted. "We wouldn't be remembering pieces of it. It matters." He sat up straight.

Bakura shuddered. "It's all very disturbing." He paused. "If it really happened, I wonder if Yugi and the others are remembering things too. . . ."

A shrug. "You could always call and ask them."

Bakura nodded and started to push himself up. "I think I will."

****

At the Muto residence above the Turtle Game Shop, Yugi jumped a mile as he flopped over on his desk and abruptly woke up. "Oh!"

Atem, who was reading a book across the room, also jumped. "Yugi? Are you alright?"

Yugi slumped back in the chair. "I . . . I don't know. . . . That was really weird. . . . I was dreaming, and yet it seemed like it was something that actually happened. But that's crazy . . . isn't it?"

"Not necessarily." Atem set the book aside. "What were you dreaming?"

Yugi stared up at the ceiling as he gathered his thoughts. "The gang and I had an argument with Bakura. We were worried about Yami Bakura being around and Bakura got upset and said we only paid attention to him when it had something to do with Yami Bakura. He ran off upset . . . and then we found him lying on the sidewalk. . . ."

_Joey caught up to the fallen boy first. "Bakura?! What the heck did that creep do?!" He dropped to his knees next to Bakura when there was no reply. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" He grabbed Bakura's shoulder. "Are you okay?!"_

_The others ran up almost simultaneously. "What happened?!" Téa cried._

_"I don't know!" Joey exclaimed. "We all saw that freakazoid shoot Bakura down with some kind of dark energy! Now he's not getting up!"_

_Yugi reached and touched his fingers to Bakura's neck. "No . . . !" He rocked back in horror._

_Tristan just stared. "Are you saying he's . . . ?!"_

_"What's going on here?!"_

_Everyone started and looked up at the sound of the gruff voice. Yami Bakura was standing on the sidewalk, his hands on his hips, staring at the scene._

_"Oh . . ." Yugi swallowed hard. "It's Bakura. . . . He's . . ."_

_"What happened to Bakura?!" Yami Bakura boomed. He ran over, pushing Yugi aside as he dropped to his knees. When he touched his fingers to Bakura's neck, he went sheet-white. "Why isn't someone performing artificial respiration or CPR?!" He gripped Bakura's shoulder, turning him onto his back. But just as he was bending over Bakura to try artificial respiration himself, a shadow fell across their paths._

_"That won't help."_

_Everyone looked up with a jerk._

_"You!" Tristan roared, seeing Yami Marik standing over them with crossed arms and a cruel sneer._

_Yami Bakura went stiff, staring up at the fiend with utter hatred. "You did this," he snarled. "You came back from the depth of the shadows to murder this innocent boy! If I can't revive him, you're going to wish you'd stayed in the shadows!" He bent over Bakura, desperate for the medical aid to succeed in reviving him._

_Tristan got to his feet. "I'm gonna slug you one right now!"_

_Yami Marik stood still, letting Tristan punch him. Then he grinned wildly, the veins popping out across his face. "Yes! Your hatred feels so good! Give me more of it!"_

_Yugi stood up now, outraged and indignant. "What did you do to Bakura?!" he demanded._

_"It doesn't really matter." Yami Marik leered at him. "What matters is, do you care enough to save him by playing my game?"_

_"What game, you palm tree haired freak?!" Joey shouted._

_"You think this is a game?!" Téa exclaimed in indignation._

_Yami Bakura paused in his attempt at artificial respiration. "Tell me how to save Bakura and I will do it," he said darkly._

_"You'll have to go to the Duel Monsters' dimension," Yami Marik grinned. "And you'll have to stay trapped in a location of my choosing and replay events over and over again until you get it right and save Bakura in that world. If you do, the spell will be broken and you'll all be brought back here and Bakura will be alright in this dimension as well."_

_"I know there must be a lot more to it than that," Yugi said darkly._

_"Oh, there is," Yami Marik promised. "And you'll learn all about that, if you agree to play my game."_

_"We don't have any way of knowing that you will keep your word," Yugi said._

_"It's a Shadow Game," Yami Marik said. "You know how those work. If you win, you win! I can't twist that rule; I didn't make it!"_

_"He's right," Yami Bakura said. "And I have no choice. Yes, I will play your game. I will save Bakura no matter what it takes."_

_"So will I," Yugi declared._

_The others echoed their assent._

_"But Shadow Game or not, I still don't trust you," Joey added._

_"Oh, I'm crushed," Yami Marik mocked. "Very well then! Let the ultimate Shadow Game—True Night—begin!"_

_The scenery began to waver and change._

"And that's where I woke up," Yugi finished. "I don't get it at all, but I don't like it." He shuddered.

Atem looked haunted. "I always knew you would start regaining your memories of that dark time at some point, Yugi. I'm sorry you are, but on the other hand, perhaps you would rather remember."

The boy started, looking to his ancestor in shock. "Huh?! It's real, and you already knew about it?!"

"Yes." Atem nodded. "I was watching over all of you from the afterlife back then. I wanted to interfere so badly, and yet I couldn't. And I wanted to believe that you would all come through that horror with flying colors, even without me there. Of course, you did."

"So, what happened?" Yugi exclaimed. "And why did we all forget?!"

Atem gave a heavy sigh. "Why don't we find out if the others are starting to remember as well? It will be a long and complicated story, one I would rather only tell once."

"That's fine with me." Yugi reached for the phone. "I'll call everyone."


	2. Chapter 2

__

True Night

When the scenery fully shifted, everyone found themselves standing in front of a dark castle under a red sky. Eyes and mouths littered the sky, watching and leering at them from every angle.

Joey shrieked. "It looks just like that Dark Sanctuary place!"

Yami Bakura went stiff. "It is Dark Sanctuary," he said in disbelief. "It's real. . . ."

"Not just that, but . . . what happened to us?!" Téa gasped. "Except for Bakura, we're all dressed like Duel Monsters!"

The group started, staring down at themselves.

"You're right, Téa!" Yugi exclaimed. "I'm Maha Vailo!"

"And I'm the Dark Magician Girl!" Téa cried. She gazed down at the revealing clothes and at the staff in her hand.

"I'm Super Roboyaru!" Tristan wasn't sure whether to be fascinated or alarmed. After all, the last time they had been dressed as Duel Monsters, it hadn't been for any fun reason. And this time the stakes were even higher.

"Check it out!" Joey exclaimed. "I'm Gilford the Lightning!" He turned to look at Yami Bakura. "And what the heck are you?!"

"Hmm?" Yami Bakura had been so caught up in staring down at Bakura and worrying and wondering why he wasn't waking up in this other dimension that he hadn't paid attention to himself. Now he looked, and raised both eyebrows at the elaborate robes and the huge skull imprinted on one. "I'm . . . The Dark Ruler," he realized.

"Well, isn't that appropriate," Tristan scowled. "Wait, does that mean you rule the castle we're in front of?!"

". . . I don't know," Yami Bakura frowned. "Nor do I particularly care." He bent down, lifting Bakura's limp body into his arms. "He's breathing," he said in relief. No matter what kind of nightmare world they had been thrust into, it couldn't be all bad. Not when Bakura was alive again. The memory of seeing him lifeless on the ground would always haunt the old thief.

Bakura snuggled close to him. "Yami," he mumbled.

Tristan's lip curled. "He really is nuts about you now. I just don't get it."

"Join the club," Yami Bakura muttered.

"It took a long time for them to get to this point," Yugi said. "I was worried before, but now . . . even though a small part of me still is, I'm mostly just happy for them. They needed each other, but it took Zorc's destruction for them to really start finding that path."

Yami Bakura looked down at the boy, once so utterly and justifiably terrified of him. Now he felt completely safe being with his former possessor, even in his sleep. It was overwhelming . . . amazing. Yami Bakura doubted he would ever stop marveling that someone could care about him that much. Especially someone he had hurt so deeply.

"He won't know any of you when he wakes up," Yami Marik gloated as he reappeared in front of them.

"Oh yeah?!" Joey took a step forward with fist clenched. "Just what do you mean by that?!"

"We don't actually look like the Duel Monsters, do we?" Téa asked in sudden concern.

"No, you all look like yourselves," Yami Marik said. "But Bakura will think you're the Duel Monsters anyway and not understand why you look like his friends. And . . ." He stuck out his tongue. "You can't tell him the truth."

"Why not?" Yami Bakura snarled.

"Because it's one of the rules of this Shadow Game that you don't," Yami Marik retorted. "If you do, it will never turn out right because this world is distorted."

"So we have to protect Bakura, keep him from dying, and never let on who we really are?!" Yugi's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, and you only have a specific amount of time to do it too," Yami Marik said with glee. "If time runs out, that's an automatic failure and time will reset again. Of course, there are infinite ways that time can reset. If Bakura dies anyway, you'll have to start over. And if any of you die, the same thing will happen."

"Why would any of us die?" Tristan frowned.

A shrug. "Protecting Bakura, of course. What else? Also, all of you will remember every attempt you make to save him, except Bakura himself. His memory will be wiped clean with each reset."

"What for?" Yami Bakura demanded.

Yami Marik made another show of his tongue. "You'll see what this world has in store for you soon enough. Oh, and yes, Spirit of the Ring—you rule the castle of Dark Sanctuary. Everyone else works for you!" The demon laughed harder, finding this final twist the most hilarious.

"WHAT?!" Joey screamed. "No way am I working for him!"

"You have to, Joey, if you want to save Bakura," Téa shot back.

Yugi sighed. "Well, Bakura has come to trust him. We'll have to also, if we want to get out of here and go home."

Tristan gripped his weapon. "We'll do what we have to do," he said in resignation.

"I thought so," Yami Marik said. "So go inside the castle and make yourselves ready for when Bakura will awaken."

Yami Bakura turned, his robes swirling out around him, as he headed resolutely for the doors. Bakura, still sleeping in his arms, seemed peaceful for the moment. He hated to think how that would change when the boy awoke.

Everyone else hurried after him, reluctant and worried. The doors, tall and black, were already standing open for them. The card character The Dark Ruler's face was depicted on each door as the doorknocker.

"Well, that's freaky," Joey gulped. "I'm glad you don't look like the guy, with the green skin and the beard and the horns and all that."

Yami Bakura grunted. He liked the card—it was very powerful. And he could have certainly adjusted to being forced to look like the character for this Shadow Game. But he had to admit that he was glad he was only wearing the character's clothes.

"Yeah, and check me out!" Téa exclaimed. She twisted around, staring down at the short pink skirt. "I look exactly like I did in that dream I had where I was playing Dark Magician's Girl's assistant on stage!"

"I don't think you told us about that one," Joey blinked.

"Well, nevermind. The point is, Yami Marik must have picked a character for each of us that has some connection with us," Téa said.

"That's right," Yugi said. "I've always identified with Maha Vailo. And Téa, Dark Magician Girl has been your ace card for quite a while now. Joey has Gilford in his deck, while Tristan likes Super Roboyaru. And then I guess you probably have that Dark Ruler card," he finished, looking to Yami Bakura.

"Yes," Yami Bakura nodded.

"That's creepy," Téa said. "I wonder if there's any significance in him choosing monsters we're familiar with."

"It's probably just to make things even creepier," Joey shrugged. "Or weirder. What I'd like to know is if we really have the cards' powers!"

"Well, don't test it out where Bakura might get hurt," Yami Bakura snapped.

"I won't, okay?!" Joey shot back.

Now they took a moment to really study their surroundings. They had entered into a large hall, with red banners hanging from the ceiling featuring The Dark Ruler's image and red carpets spread at different spots on the floor. It didn't seem to be a throne room, as there was no actual throne, but there was an elaborately carved chair at the top of three stone steps at the back of the room that overlooked all else. Obviously that was for The Dark Ruler to sit and enjoy whatever was taking place, whether that was receiving guests or drinking wine. A bottle of such had been placed just to the side of the chair on a small round table.

Yami Bakura carried Bakura to a couch in the middle of the room and laid him on it, then stood over him protectively. He had no intention of going to any such chair. While being poisoned by Zorc, he had wanted to rule the world and probably would have got a kick out of reigning over these people. Now all he wanted was to save the boy he had grown to love so much. Just to be able to go home with Bakura to the life they had started to share together ever since Zorc's destruction was a fate far better and more valuable than a kingship.

"So now what?" Téa wondered.

Yami Bakura kept looking down at the boy as he replied. "We wait for Bakura to wake up."

****

Waking up was strange. He was laying on something soft, and yet it didn't feel familiar, like his bed or the couch. He stirred, rolling onto his side and pulling the pillow down with him.

After a moment, when it was clear that more sleep wouldn't come, he slowly stretched and opened his eyes. He was laying on a couch, alright, but a couch in a large marble hall. The room seemed dark and ominous somehow; the windows and candleholders and electric lights overhead did very little to alleviate the feeling that something wasn't right. The deep red rugs on the floor weren't encouraging either. And the matching red sky and eyes and teeth outside the window only emphasized that point. He gasped, sitting upright. "What on Earth . . . ?!"

"You're awake?!"

He turned at the sound of the familiar voice. "Yami?" He rocked back, blinking in bewilderment at the man's attire. "What's going on? Why are you dressed like that?!"

"‘Yami'?!" He looked at Bakura, his bangs hiding his eyes. "I am The Dark Ruler. If I bear any resemblance to your friend, it is merely a coincidence."

Bakura frowned. "I don't understand any of this."

"Hey there!"

He jumped. "Téa?" Now this was getting too strange. It was obviously Téa hurrying over to him, but she was dressed like Dark Magician Girl.

"What the heck's going on here?!" Joey yelped. "He said you wouldn't . . ."

Tristan clapped a hand over Joey's mouth. "What Gilford means to say is that we're all surprised you're awake so soon," he said. "The doctor said it might be a while yet."

Bakura just stared at them. "What is this, an elaborate costume party? I'm afraid I'm not very amused. The last thing I remember is . . ." He frowned. "We were having a disagreement, weren't we? Yami wasn't there, but it was about him. Then I ran out and . . ." He trailed off, shuddering. "That horrible Yami Marik shot me down with something."

Yami Bakura started, turning to look at Joey and Tristan with a dark expression. Though he did not speak, it was obvious what he was thinking. _You were arguing with Bakura? You caused him to run out? Then this was partially your fault._

Joey looked away in guilt. "Yami Marik?" he mumbled to the floor. "Who's that? You're at Dark Sanctuary now."

"Dark Sanctuary?" Bakura frowned, looking to the window. "It does look like that, doesn't it. Are these more of Kaiba's special effects? They're impressive, but I would like to go home now."

"Um, it's not that simple," Yugi said with hesitance as he stepped forward.

Bakura jerked, looking to him. "Why not?!"

"This is a different dimension," Yami Bakura said. "We're not sure what you have to do to get home."

"Oh." Bakura frowned. "Well, I still don't know why you're all dressed like Duel Monsters, but maybe that's another of Yami Marik's tricks. And I suppose he's ordered you not to tell me the truth?" He folded his arms.

Everyone exchanged baffled looks. None of them were sure what to do now. Yami Marik had said Bakura wouldn't know them upon waking up, but he did. And from Téa's eyes, she wasn't sure she could lie to him and say she wasn't Téa since he was aware of the truth.

Yami Bakura finally cracked a bit of a dark smirk. Everyone underestimated Bakura, himself included in the past. The boy was sweet and quiet and no one really knew much about the real him other than Yami Bakura. He knew Bakura had strength the likes of which Yugi and the others were only starting to recognize. It didn't surprise him that Bakura had defied Yami Marik's expectations without even meaning to. But it did leave them with a problem. Would telling Bakura the truth really make things go badly, or was that another of Yami Marik's lies? Could they risk it?

"Well," Bakura continued now, "if he's told you that you can't tell me, I suppose there has to be some reason or you wouldn't listen to him. I can play along with that." He got up and walked over to the window. "This really does look like Dark Sanctuary. Oh my." He whipped around to face them again. "You told me about there being an actual Duel Monsters dimension, Yugi. This isn't it, is it?"

"This is the Duel Monsters' dimension," Yugi said carefully, trying to keep his tone neutral.

"And you don't know how to get home?" Bakura frowned.

"We aren't sure," Yami Bakura said. They had to keep Bakura alive, but what did that entail, exactly? Would Yami Marik try to kill him in all manner of horrible ways? Would they have to be on guard every minute to protect him from another one?

"Well." Bakura walked back over to him. "You know I'll do whatever I can to help find the way."

Yami Bakura looked away. "Good. Perhaps there's a clue somewhere in the castle. We might find it if we all look." He would rather Bakura just sit still, but he doubted that would work either. They had to keep time moving and not just wait for it to run out. Since it was a Shadow Game, they would all lose if they didn't do something to play the game.

"Great idea . . . um, Your Majesty," Yugi stammered, suddenly remembering that he was supposed to be part of the staff working for Yami Bakura's character. "Let's spread out and look! We could go in two teams of three each, or three teams of two each."

"I say we take three teams of two each," Bakura said. "I'll go with Yami." He wanted to talk to his friend in private. Maybe without the others around, he could get some more concrete answers. Then again, he knew that if Yami Marik had sworn them all to secrecy, Yami Bakura would never talk even if they were alone.

Téa looked worriedly to Yugi. "Should we do that?"

Yugi drew a deep breath. "I say the ruler should decide."

Yami Bakura grunted. ". . . Two teams of three each." He wanted an extra pair of eyes to look out for Bakura. He wasn't going to be prideful and insist that only he could do it. Even if he wished he could team up with Bakura alone, he wouldn't give in to those feelings now. There was too much at stake.

Yugi blinked, slightly surprised. Then he smiled in relief. "Okay. Should I go with you?"

Another hesitation. Yami Bakura didn't know if they actually had the characters' powers in this dimension or if they were only wearing prop costumes. If Yugi didn't have Maha Vailo's powers, it would likely be better to take one of the others, someone bigger and stronger who could help protect Bakura better.

"Go with the Dark Magician Girl," Yami Bakura said at last. "We'll take Super Roboyaru."

Tristan started. "Me?! Why me?!"

Yami Bakura shot him a look. "I trust you under pressure more than I do him." He nodded at Joey.

"Hey, I have the most attack points," Joey protested.

Yami Bakura quirked an eyebrow at him. "Do you?"

Joey frowned, getting the point. That was something else they didn't know. But maybe once he was away from Bakura, he could find a way to test his possible abilities and see for sure.

"Okay, nevermind," he said. "Yeah, take Tr-Super Roboyaru. I'll go with the others."

Yami Bakura muttered something under his breath as the groups separated.

Bakura hurried to walk alongside him. "Yami, what is all this?" he whispered. "Can't you tell me anything?"

"I told you that I am The Dark Ruler," Yami Bakura retorted. "I don't know why I look like this friend of yours."

Bakura sighed. "Yami Marik must have really done something horribly cruel again," he said. "You would never cater to his whims under normal circumstances." Suddenly he stiffened. "Oh. . . . Does this have something to do with me? I remember he hurt me."

Both Yami Bakura and Tristan stopped walking too. Fear flashed through their eyes.

"You'll have to ask him if you ever run across him," Yami Bakura said at last, his voice completely gruff.

"And who knows when that'll be," Tristan said.

"I certainly will ask him," Bakura declared. "I never have settled my score with him for hurting Yami the way he did." His eyes darkened. "I can't forgive that."

Tristan looked like he badly wanted to ask a question. But to his credit, he held his tongue until he figured out how to phrase it without giving anything away. "You're pretty fierce all of a sudden," he said then. "I wasn't expecting that from you."

"You know how badly Yami Marik hurt Yami," Bakura said. He started walking again. "Yami is such a strong, proud man. Yami Marik badly damaged him. But he couldn't break him! He couldn't ever break him."

"There is one way he could," Yami Bakura said under his breath.

"When I saw how badly hurt he was, I knew that I could honestly say I hated Yami Marik," Bakura continued. "I still do."

The abrupt and eerie groaning from a suit of armor they were passing startled Yami Bakura into action. "Bakura!" He grabbed the boy around the waist, desperately pulling him away. At the same moment, he felt something sharp and deep cut into his back. He stumbled, suddenly dizzy.

"Yami?!" Bakura twisted around in his arms and screamed. "The axe! The axe fell on you instead of me!"

Tristan swore, running forward to grasp the handle and pull it out. "Don't you die on us," he snapped.

But Yami Bakura was already halfway there. He grunted and lost his balance, crashing to the floor.

"Yami! Yami, please, no! Please stay with us! Please!" Bakura sobbed, hysterical now. He dropped to his knees, hugging the old thief close as Tristan finally pulled the axe out of his slackening body. "Yami. . . ."

Those heartbroken cries haunted Yami Bakura throughout the rest of their misadventure. The only positive thing he could think was that at least Bakura would not remember this scene when time reset again.

__

True Reality

"Okay, now that's just disturbing."

Everyone was sitting in the living room above the Game Shop, listening as Atem told all that he had seen and heard as he had watched over the others from the afterlife. When Yugi had called the others, he had learned that they were indeed remembering bits and pieces. None of them, however, had remembered this.

It was Tristan who had spoken. Joey shuddered, moving a little closer to Yugi on the couch. "I know it's almost Halloween and all, but do we have to go all out for it like this?"

Yugi sighed. "If you don't want to hear the rest, Joey . . ."

Joey scowled. "Nah, I guess I really figure it's stuff we need to know. I don't get why we forgot in the first place. I mean, Artichoke Head would've wanted us to remember, so it's not like he wiped our minds."

"Joey's right that this is a really creepy story, though," Téa shivered. "And sad. Is that the kind of thing that happened every time things reset? Someone getting fatally hurt?"

"Not always," Atem said.

Tristan shifted, looking down at the floor. "And that was when me and Joey were still on the rocks with Yami Bakura too. It hasn't been that long since we started feeling better about him. But remembering how we acted, even when he didn't deserve it . . . I don't like it. We gave Marik a fair chance long before we gave him one."

"It's in the past now, Tristan," Bakura said quietly.

Tristan looked back up again. "How are you guys holding up? I mean, this story's mostly about you two. If it's hard for us to hear, it must be way worse for you."

"It . . . isn't pleasant." Yami Bakura looked away. That was the understatement of the year. He still didn't really remember; for him, there was only a vague sensation, a feeling that Bakura's nightmare wasn't a nightmare. Now he knew it wasn't, and he didn't know how to handle that information.

Bakura gently squeezed his hand. "We can go home, Yami. I don't have to know more." He swallowed hard. "Already, knowing that you and everyone else willingly entered that terrible Shadow Game to save my life is deeply sobering. Saying Thank You hardly seems appropriate at all. It certainly doesn't cover the depth of my feelings."

Yami Bakura suddenly gripped Bakura's hand. "No. I want to know more. I want to know just how much to hate that demon for what he did."

The dark tone to his voice chilled everyone present. And yet, they couldn't honestly say they didn't feel similarly.

"Alright," Atem agreed. "I'll continue."


	3. Chapter 3

_True Night_

Yami Bakura slowly opened his eyes. The scenery had changed; now they were back in the grand hall and Bakura was laying on the couch, just as before. And his back no longer hurt.

"What'd we do? Go back to the beginning?!" Joey exclaimed.

"Yeah," Tristan said. "He took an axe trying to save Bakura." He indicated Yami Bakura. Though he spoke in frustration, he was really quite shaken by the sight. And he had to admit that it seemed to show that Yami Bakura definitely did care about Bakura, rather than just wanting to get home himself.

Yugi gasped. "Are you alright?!"

"Yes," Yami Bakura growled. "But it only proves how careful we're going to have to be. That fiend isn't going to just jump out of the woodwork and blast Bakura like before. The entire castle is probably booby-trapped!"

"And we have to make it through with all of us surviving," Téa gulped. "Just protecting Bakura is going to be hard. How are we going to protect all of us?!"

"I don't know, but there has to be a way," Yugi said. "This is a game, and games always have a solution!"

"It's sure a sick game," Joey said bitterly. He looked Yami Bakura up and down as a realization suddenly hit him. "And you're not in your ancient Egypt form. How are you able to carry Bakura like you've been doing? He's the same size as you!"

Yami Bakura grunted. "I don't know. I didn't even think to question it. Perhaps I have extra strength here."

"Or maybe just the amount of strength you'd have in your other form," Yugi suggested. "For some reason."

"Hey," Tristan said suddenly. "Was that crack in the wall there before?"

Everyone turned to look. On the back wall, right under one of the red banners, was a jagged crack several inches long.

Joey blinked. "Not that it really matters, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't. The place looked just fine when we first came in. I remember thinking that it was lookin' pretty good for bein' as old as it probably is."

"But what does some old crack matter anyway?" Téa frowned.

"Maybe nothing," Tristan said. "But if it really wasn't there before, don't you think it's kind of weird that now it is?"

Before anyone could answer, Bakura stirred, slowly opening his eyes. "Yami?" He blinked, rapidly. "Why are you dressed like a Duel Monster?"

Yami Bakura grunted. "I am The Dark Ruler," he retorted. "This is my staff." He gestured to the others. "Are you alright? We found you lying hurt outside the castle."

Bakura sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm alright, or at least, I thought I was alright." He frowned. "I must still be dreaming."

"This ain't no dream," Joey said. "This is the castle of Dark Sanctuary."

Bakura started, looking towards the window. "Oh my! How did we get here?! Did that horrible Yami Marik cause it?!"

"Yami Marik?" Joey looked away. "We don't know who you're talking about."

Bakura gave him a hard look. "I might think you'll all under a spell but me, except that you don't want to make eye contact with me while you're making up stories. You know you're lying." He looked to Yami Bakura. "But I know this wouldn't be an elaborate practical joke, so it must be something serious. Is it anything like when we were put in the game by Yami?"

Ignoring that, Yami Bakura said, "We need to find a way to return you to your dimension. The solution may be hidden in the castle somewhere."

"So it's a puzzle game?" Bakura got off the couch.

"That's a . . . good way of putting it," Tristan said slowly.

"Only you don't know what you're even searching for," Bakura mused. "A portal, perhaps?"

Yugi and Téa exchanged a look. "Well," Yugi said then, "let's look around and see."

"Shall we split up?" Bakura asked.

"Let's all stick together," Yami Bakura grunted.

Bakura gave him a curious look, but didn't protest. "Alright. . . ."

The hallway was long, and as cold and dark as the room they were leaving. Candles on tables flickered on either side, casting eerie shadows of everyone on the walls. Their footsteps echoed ominously on the stone floor.

"Seriously, doesn't this place have electricity?" Joey exclaimed after a moment.

"Joey!" Téa shot him a look. They were supposed to live here; Joey would already know the answer if he was properly in character!

"Nevermind," Joey said hastily. "What I really meant was, when are they gonna finish getting the electricity in?! It's in the big hall. Why not here too?!"

"I'll be sure to speak with the electricians," Yami Bakura grunted.

Bakura still looked like he thought they were all crazy. At the same time, the fear in his eyes showed that he was certain something was very wrong, even though he had no idea what it was.

"How long have we been here?" he asked then. "And why was I unconscious?"

"As I said, we found you lying outside the castle," Yami Bakura said. "We don't know what happened to you." It was at least partially true; they really didn't know what Yami Marik had blasted him with.

With one accord, all the candles suddenly blew out, plunging the room into darkness.

"Oh no!" Téa cried. "Now what?!"

"Anybody got a flashlight?" Tristan asked.

Yami Bakura growled under his breath. The Infinity Ring was under his robes. He could use it to re-light the hall, providing it cooperated, but then it would be clear that they were all indeed Bakura's friends. He still didn't know if Yami Marik was lying about them needing to keep that fact quiet, and he didn't like to chance it. Still, they couldn't wander around in the dark, either. That would be a disaster waiting to happen.

"Maybe we can light the hall with our staffs," Yugi suggested, forgetting again that no one had had a chance to see whether they really had powers in this Shadow Game.

"It's worth a try," Téa said. She held up her staff and shut her eyes, desperately concentrating. A beam shone out, illuminating the path ahead.

"You did it!" Yugi exclaimed.

Téa cautiously opened one eye. "Great!" she said in relief.

"And way cool," Joey added. Tristan elbowed him before he could blurt out anything else.

Again they started to walk. Joey looked this way and that, tense and nervous. At the sound of something creaking to the left, he whipped around. "What was that?!"

Everyone else jerked to a halt as well. "I don't see anything," Téa said.

"Well, something made that sound," Joey insisted. He took a step in that direction.

"Wait!" Yami Bakura commanded.

But it was too late. A panel opened up under Joey's feet and he fell with a scream, down, down . . . until there was a sickening impaling sound and complete silence.

Téa screamed too, forgetting the rules. "JOEY!"

Yugi and Tristan both ran to the trapdoor, staring down after their friend. Yugi looked nearly faint. Tristan couldn't refrain from swearing.

Bakura went sheet-white. He rushed over to the trapdoor as well, horrified and desperately praying not to see what he was afraid he would see. "Oh . . . oh my. . . ." He covered his mouth with both hands, shaking and pale.

Yami Bakura pulled him back from the edge, snarling as he held the stricken boy close. In his mind, he cursed Yami Marik in both English and Egyptian and prayed for time to reset quickly.

****

It was a relief to everyone when time did. Once more they were back in the hall, Bakura asleep on the couch. Joey slumped in a chair, breathing heavily, holding a hand to his mid-section. "Oh man. . . . So only Bakura forgets everything. We've all gotta remember every single round, and dying over and over!"

Yugi, Tristan, and Téa all ran over to him. "Are you really okay, man?!" Tristan demanded.

"Yeah," Joey insisted. "But if that's not gonna stay stuck in my nightmares for a while!" He stood. "There's gotta be a better way to do this!" He looked to Yami Bakura. "Are you sure we've gotta leave this room?! Maybe the only way to win is just to stay put until time runs out!"

"Then we'd all lose," Yami Bakura growled. "We have to put in some effort to solve this game or it won't work!" He clenched a fist. "It's possible that the only way is to try every single path and discover each trap that demon has placed here, then map out a correct route past everything."

Yugi bit his lip. "That's how most puzzle games work," he admitted. "But . . . that would mean someone will die and time will reset who knows how many times! I . . . I don't think any of us could stand that. . . ." He shut his eyes tightly, but tears were already slipping out. "I know I couldn't. . . ."

Yami Bakura looked down at Bakura. "Odd that the fiend granted Bakura the mercy of forgetting each attempt," he muttered. "He wouldn't have done it to be merciful, so there has to have been another reason."

"Maybe because if Bakura remembered, he'd beg us just to accept his death and forget about going through this again and again," Tristan suggested.

Yami Bakura looked up with a start. He could certainly picture it of Bakura, especially after seeing what happened to his friends every single time. His loving heart wouldn't be able to take it. And Yami Marik wouldn't want things to end. He would want time to keep resetting indefinitely, piling on the horror for everyone else present.

"And is that what you'll want to do, if this goes on for quite some time?" he had to ask. "You cared enough about Bakura to enter this Shadow Game, but can you see it through to the end?"

Tristan looked away, clenching a fist. "I want to believe so. I don't want Bakura to be dead, but I don't want any of us to have to keep suffering like this either."

Yugi looked up. "We're all going home together," he vowed. "We're not going to accept Bakura's death when there's a way to save him and all of us too! No matter what happens, we're going to keep playing this game through to the end!"

"That's right, Yugi," Téa said. "I feel the same."

"Yeah." Joey nodded. "We're all in this." He looked to Tristan. "And I guess we . . . well, me anyway . . . I do feel kind of responsible." He frowned. "Maybe Bakura wouldn't have got hurt if he hadn't left the Game Shop mad."

"Bakura didn't have to snap and run out on us," Tristan retorted.

"But Yami Marik was obviously planning this," Yugi said. "He would have got Bakura whether he left upset or not."

"That's right," Téa said. "And you guys were only worried about Bakura's safety."

"Yeah." Joey scowled at the floor. "We thought Yami Bakura was the big danger, and instead it's Yami Marik. That big creep."

"And hey, shouldn't Bakura be waking up about now?" Téa worried.

Almost as if on cue, the white-haired boy stirred. "Oh . . . hello," he mumbled, yawning as he opened his eyes. "Is everything alright?"

"You were the one unconscious and you're asking us?" Yami Bakura grunted. "We found you outside the castle."

Bakura started. "I was unconscious?! And what castle?!"

"The castle of Dark Sanctuary," Tristan said.

"Come again?" Bakura woke up more fully and stared at everyone. "Why are all of you dressed like Duel Monsters?"

"We are Duel Monsters," Yami Bakura growled. Supposing Yami Marik was right about not revealing the truth, maybe some things had been going wrong because they hadn't been forceful enough about that. It would have to change.

Bakura sat up. "You don't look like Duel Monsters," he countered. "You look like my friends."

"Merely a coincidence," Yami Bakura said flippantly. "Or you're so homesick for them that you're imagining we look like them."

Bakura leaned on the back of the couch with one arm. "If I was going to do that, Yami, I wouldn't picture you as The Dark Ruler."

Well, that wasn't a surprise. "Oh? And how would you picture him?" Yami Bakura asked, folding his arms.

Bakura smiled a bit. "I'll have to think about that for a while. Actually, I've never pictured you as a Duel Monster. And as for the rest of you, if I was going to do that, I would probably think of the characters you played when we were all put in the game."

"I'm not your Yami," Yami Bakura growled.

That caused Bakura to flinch, his composure shaken. He looked from Yami Bakura to the others, searching, trying to make some sense of this situation. "Why . . . what's happened?" he stammered at last.

Téa bit her lip. She understood why Yami Bakura was trying this approach, but she still wasn't sure she could make herself do it. Bakura looked devastated, and for the first time in any of these resets, utterly lost and afraid.

"This is another dimension," she said at last. "We're trying to figure out how to get you back to your dimension, with your friends."

"I'm with my friends!" Bakura cried. "Or at least . . . I thought I was. . . ." He got off the couch. "Is this some nightmare world concocted by Yami Marik?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what it is," Tristan pounced. "It's your nightmare world."

Yami Bakura shot him a Look. What on Earth was he doing?!

Bakura seemed to accept it. "Oh. Oh my." He slumped back. "I guess this is like what happened to Mai in the Shadow Realm, isn't it? She thought she saw the others, but she really didn't." He drew a shaking breath. "Alright. Aren't there any ideas on how to get home?"

"There's probably a clue somewhere in this place," Joey said. "We've just gotta find it."

"Well," Bakura said calmly, "if you're all phantoms in my nightmare, don't you already know?"

"Hey, dreams aren't supposed to make sense," Joey said. "Come on, let's take a walk and see what we can turn up."

"Alright." Bakura turned and started down a hallway, one they hadn't tried before that went in the opposite direction from the badly booby-trapped one.

Yami Bakura doubted this path was any safer. He quickly glided after his descendant, followed by the rest of the group.

"I hope making Bakura think this is a dream is a good idea," Yugi worried.

"It really is a nightmare," Tristan pointed out. "And Bakura's the star of the show, so in that way it's his nightmare world."

"I guess that logic makes sense," Téa deadpanned.

The path seemed to be booby-trap free. But the deeper they traveled down the corridor, the more tense they grew. Something was bound to happen. Getting out couldn't be as easy as choosing this path . . . could it?

"I can't imagine what kind of clue we're supposed to find," Bakura said. "Really, can't you give me any hints at all?" He idly reached for a statue of Gagagigo on a table.

Alarm bells went off in Yami Bakura's mind. "Don't touch that!" he barked.

Bakura dropped it with a start. "Why?" But before Yami Bakura could answer, the boy stumbled, staggering away from the table. "Oh. . . . I . . . I think I pricked my finger. . . ."

Immediately Yami Bakura grabbed Bakura's hand and stared at the finger in question. There was definitely blood, and something else as well. "Poison," he rasped in horror.

"Poison?!" Téa shrieked.

"What was it doing in that statue?!" Tristan cried.

Yami Bakura didn't answer. He was desperately pressing down on the finger, trying to push the poison back out through the wound before it could start to spread.

Bakura started to lose his balance before Yami Bakura could proceed much further. In desperation he grabbed at the colorful robes, tearing one of them as he went down.

Yami Bakura gave up. His heart pounded in his horror as he took the boy in his arms and sank to his knees. "Bakura . . ." He gently brushed the hair away from Bakura's face. _You're going to die, aren't you? You're going to die in my arms. . . ._ It was too much like so many of the horrors he had experienced when Yami Marik had tortured him. He was just recovering from that, and now this?

Bakura looked up at him. "I don't like this dream," he whispered. "I want to wake up now." His eyes started to close. "Yami. . . ."

Yami Bakura held him close, shaking. _That fiend! . . . I wish we could all wake up. But we never will, will we?_

"I love you, Yami. . . ." Bakura went completely limp.

For a moment Yami Bakura just knelt there, cradling him, not believing what had happened.

He screamed.

_True Reality_

Yami Bakura looked badly shaken. He stood, crossing to the window and looking out at the rainy night. Worried, Bakura got up and went over to him.

Atem paused. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know this part of the tale has to be hard for you."

"Maybe you really shouldn't tell it in every particular," Yugi said in concern. "I'm not sure how much more any of us can take."

"I won't detail every repeat," Atem agreed. "But this one was important, not just because it was the first time Bakura fell, but because of what it spurred Yami Bakura to do during the next reset."

Yami Bakura clenched his fists. "Well? What was it?" he barked.

Taking a deep breath, Atem began again.

_True Night_

Yami Bakura was still clutching Bakura when time reset. Now he was kneeling on the couch, holding a clearly breathing Bakura in his arms. He only set the boy down and climbed down from the couch with great reluctance.

"Alright, now what was that?!" Tristan exclaimed. "Why was there poison in that statue and how did you know it was going to be there?!"

"I only had a suspicion," Yami Bakura growled, "and I was right. It's an unusual Duel Monster, one I run in my current deck. I could easily picture that fiend deciding to put a cruel surprise in a statue of it, knowing Bakura might be likely to pick it up."

"Well, I say we try my idea of just staying put this time," Tristan said. "It can't be any worse than what we've been going through."

"You will see it won't work," Yami Bakura snapped. "That isn't how you play puzzle games. Or Shadow Games."

"Do you want to see Bakura die again?" Tristan countered.

"If we all just sit around doing nothing, we will all collectively die when time runs out," Yami Bakura insisted.

"I'm afraid he's right," Yugi said. "No game is solved that way."

"We should try it anyway," Tristan insisted. "If it's not the right way to go, we'll know soon enough, and at least we won't see somebody die in a graphic way."

"Unless the ceiling falls in on all of us," Téa muttered.

". . . I suppose at least one positive about the concept would be that then we could calculate how much time we have before it runs out," Yami Bakura grudgingly said.

"I don't think time even moves in this world," Yugi said. He looked down at his watch. "It's been saying the same time ever since we got here!"

Joey cried out in frustration. "So that means even if we try to stand still, we won't know how long it takes for time to run out!"

"Then not moving truly is pointless," Yami Bakura growled.

Bakura stirred, opening his eyes. "Oh . . . what's going on?" he mumbled. "I know it's nowhere near Halloween. . . ." He stared at everyone's costumes.

"It has nothing to do with Halloween," Yami Bakura retorted. "But you have been hurt. You need to rest."

"I feel fine," Bakura protested. "Unless my seeing all of you like this is some sort of bizarre hallucination. . . . I just can't picture you wanting to participate in a masquerade party, Yami."

Yami Bakura grunted. "I don't."

Tristan shot him a Look. "No way! You're not going to pretend you're The Dark Ruler?!"

"What on Earth is the use?" Yami Bakura retorted. He was starting to doubt that Yami Marik was telling the truth about lying to Bakura. He had lied about Bakura not knowing them. Anyway . . . Yami Bakura wouldn't say so, but he wasn't sure he could bear seeing Bakura looking as crushed as he had on the last round. Not if he wasn't completely assured it had to be that way for Bakura's safety.

Bakura sat up. "I don't understand any of this. Why are you all dressed up? In fact, why am I not?"

Téa sighed. "Honestly, none of us are really sure. It's just another of Yami Marik's sick schemes."

"Yami Marik?!" Bakura went stiff. "That's right, he hurt me. He must be trying to get at Yami again!"

"He's trying to get at all of us," Joey said. "And unfortunately, it's working."

"Well, we have to get home," Bakura insisted. "There must be a way!"

"We've been looking for it," Tristan said. "We still haven't found it yet."

"Then we'll just have to keep looking," Bakura said. "Surely with all of us, it can't take that long!"

"The entire castle is booby-trapped," Yami Bakura said. "It's very dangerous."

"We'll be careful." Bakura smiled at him. "I'll be careful."

It of course wasn't that simple, but Yami Bakura nodded. There wasn't much else they could do.


	4. Chapter 4

_True Night_

Everyone was tense as they chose a path to try. Yami Bakura decided they should go with the one from the last round, since there hadn't been any booby traps for quite some time and then, only the statue. He would keep Bakura from picking it up this time, and hopefully they could stay alert for whatever else might come at them.

"This is such a dreary place," Bakura commented as they walked. "And . . . that's strange. I thought the sky of Dark Sanctuary was always red?"

"Hmm?" Yami Bakura looked to where Bakura was pointing. They had advanced quite far down the hall by now. At the other end was a window, through which a very gray and stormy sky was visible. Lightning flashed every now and then, although rain did not fall.

"Oh man, what now?" Tristan moaned. "Maybe now something's going wrong because you didn't keep up the masquerade!" He glared at Yami Bakura.

"Unless the window shatters and cuts us to pieces, it shouldn't be a problem," Yami Bakura retorted.

"It don't seem like there's any rooms down here, though," Joey said nervously. "Just this long hallway and the dead-end window. Maybe we should turn around and go back."

"It is kind of weird that there doesn't seem to be anything," Yugi said. "It could be a trick and there actually is a lot down here, hidden in wall panels or the floor. Or maybe it really is a dead-end path meant to throw us off-track."

They made it to the window without incident. Looking down, there was a long drop, with the ground hidden by dark clouds.

"That's weird too," Joey said. "I thought we were on the ground floor!"

"Apparently not," Yami Bakura grunted.

"I think we should turn around and go back, guys," Téa worried. "This is really creeping me out!"

They all turned around. The hall was visible for a while, but then faded into darkness.

"Okay," Joey said slowly. "What do you think that means?!"

"Maybe we'll see the lights again when we get closer to them," Tristan said. "Isn't that how some games' graphics are?"

"Yeah," Yugi said slowly. "Only it wasn't that way coming forward. Why would it be that way going back?"

"I knew we should've tried just staying put!" Tristan ranted. "Or sticking with the masquerade. Whatever's going wrong here, I'm sure you caused it!" He pointed at Yami Bakura, who growled.

"Don't blame this all on me!" he snapped. "Perhaps none of this would be happening if you and Joey hadn't made nuisances of yourselves regarding Bakura's private business!"

"They were just worried!" Téa protested.

"Well, we wouldn't have made nuisances of ourselves if you hadn't come back in the first place!" Tristan yelled.

"But Atem and Shadi sent him back!" Yugi cried over the din. "There had to be a good reason for it!"

"STOP!"

Everyone jumped a mile. Bakura was standing in front of them, fists clenched, eyes flashing. But when he had their attention, he sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"I suppose perhaps we're all at fault. I shouldn't have been so upset either. I know you were only worried about me. But it does hurt that you won't give Yami a fair chance when you gave them to Marik and the bikers."

"That's a good point, guys," Yugi said quietly.

Tristan looked away, glaring at the wall.

"Well, maybe if he'd give us good reason to trust him," Joey said.

"I've come to trust him. And he saved my life! Why isn't any of that good enough?!" Bakura walked over to Yami Bakura. "We're all stranded in this world, and while I don't know why, I do know we need to work together to get back out. How can we do that if we're always arguing and refusing to trust in each other?!"

". . . We can't," Téa said.

"So let's stick together and rally around each other," Bakura pleaded.

Joey finally nodded. "I'll give it a try."

"I just hope we won't end up needing to rely on Yami Bakura to get out," Tristan muttered.

"Tristan!" Téa frowned.

"Okay, okay." Tristan started forward. "Let's go."

They headed back down the hall. But as they did, they found they were walking into the darkness instead of the other candles lighting up again.

"This is just freaky," Téa moaned. "What's going on here?!"

"I have a bad feeling that we're walking into a bad ending," Yugi gulped.

"An ending?!" Bakura repeated, clearly bewildered. "What are you talking about, Yugi?!"

Yami Bakura gripped Bakura's hand. "Nevermind," he muttered. "It looks like now we know how much time we have to find our solution."

The darkness covered them all.

_True Reality_

Joey jumped a mile as thunder boomed outside the Game Shop. "Oh man, that's really creepy!"

"People died in horrible ways and it's being covered by the darkness that scares you?" Téa said in disbelief.

"All of it was awful!" Joey retorted. "I barely even remember it, just the bits and pieces I was getting back when Yugi called. I'm glad I don't remember everything!"

"And it sounds like we wasted a lot of that round just arguing about everything," Tristan frowned.

Atem nodded. "And there were other rounds that were spent trying desperately to find the way out of the Shadow Game without arguing about it, and time still ran out."

"So what happened?" Tristan asked. "It couldn't have really been that I was right all along and doing nothing was the solution."

"Hey, that was my idea first!" Joey interjected.

"No, that didn't work either," Atem agreed. "Eventually everyone was so worn-down that they tried that as well."

"Was there really so little time to look for it?" Bakura wondered. "It sounded like it couldn't have been more than thirty minutes or possibly an hour."

"As you all later learned, it wasn't that time had run out, it was that you went down a path you weren't supposed to go," Atem said. "That was an automatic bad ending."

"Oh my." Bakura shuddered. "And my forgetting everything each time it reset. . . . Did I ever learn the truth of why we were stranded there, that you were all trying desperately to save me?"

"Well," said Atem, "we're getting ahead of ourselves. I'll continue the tale."

_True Night_

No one was surprised when they found themselves back in the grand hall with Bakura asleep on the couch. They were all, however, upset and distressed.

"I'm still sure you must have caused that by giving up and agreeing that you're who Bakura thought you were," Tristan said to Yami Bakura.

"Then why didn't time reset immediately?" Yami Bakura shot back. "That demon was lying about that being a problem!"

"We don't know that!" Tristan insisted.

"And you don't know the truth of what you're saying either," Yami Bakura growled.

"I think Bakura was right that we're all to blame for being stranded here in general," Yugi said. "But as for what happened on the last round, I'm pretty sure we either ran out of time or we just walked down a bad path. Sometimes in puzzle games, if you make a wrong choice, it's an automatic Game Over."

"Oh great. It should have told us that before we walked all the way down there!" Joey cried, messing up his hair.

"Maybe it did," Yugi said. "Maybe that was why things looked so different out that window. It could have been a warning not to go that way."

Téa sighed. "Yami Marik sure went to a lot of trouble designing this place."

"Oh, for him it was no trouble at all," Yami Bakura growled. "I'm sure he enjoyed every moment of it."

"And the creep's probably watching us all right now!" Tristan ranted. "Sitting somewhere, laughing like the maniac he is, relishing every time we screw up and have to start over!"

Bakura started and woke up. ". . . Oh. What's going on?" He blinked up at everyone. "Did I miss something?"

"Do you feel like you missed something?" Yami Bakura grunted.

"Well, I don't know. . . ." Bakura sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the couch. "I know I must have, because everyone is dressed like Duel Monsters. Except me. That's odd." He looked up at Yami Bakura. "What's going on, Yami?"

Yami Bakura debated with himself before replying. "I am The Dark Ruler." He still didn't think Yami Marik was telling the truth about revealing their identities being a problem. But it did look like they couldn't do that without arguing among themselves, and he didn't want to waste any more time on that.

Bakura stared at him. "Well, I know you wouldn't be playing a trick like that on me, so you must be under a spell. All of you!" He stared at the others.

"I guess you could say that," Yugi said sheepishly.

"We need to get you out of here and back to your dimension," Yami Bakura said. "The key is somewhere in this castle."

"If I go back, all of you go back as well," Bakura retorted. "I won't leave without you!"

"First let's focus on finding out how to leave," Yugi said.

"Yeah," Joey nodded. "So if you're feeling up to it, let's go see what we can come up with."

"Alright." Bakura got off the couch. "Which way shall we go?"

"There are eight paths, and we've tried two of them," Yami Bakura said, assuming Bakura would think he meant that they were tried before Bakura woke up. "Let's try this one." He walked over to one of the untested paths.

The others followed.

"Man, this is such a freaky place," Joey quavered, staring at the skull designs on the walls and on the candle holders. "I don't wanna be here!"

"I wonder if any of these could be some kind of clue," Yugi mused, studying them. Finally he reached up, touching the nearest wall sconce. Nothing happened.

"If you're not careful, a poisoned dart could shoot out of one of them," Yami Bakura grunted.

"Then everyone stand to the side," Yugi said, doing likewise before touching another.

This time a panel in the wall creaked open, revealing another room beyond.

"This looks promising," Bakura said, going forward to peer inside.

"Be careful!" Yami Bakura snapped. He hurried over as well.

"It looks perfectly alright, Yami," Bakura said.

"Looks can be deceiving." Yami Bakura grabbed a candelabra and threw it into the secret room. It clattered on the stone floor and lay still.

"I guess we can go in then, right?" Téa hoped.

"We can try," Yugi said, although he still looked worried.

The group slowly advanced into the room, but Bakura stopped. "Wait! I wonder if we should try to prop the door open? We don't want to get stuck in here like we did in that cave at Duelist Kingdom."

"Oh, we sure don't," Téa moaned. "But what could we even use?"

"A table, maybe?" Bakura went over to a small black table and started pushing it towards the doorway. It fit inside just right, and he climbed over it to join the others.

"Alright!" Joey exclaimed. "Now, if the door tries to close, it'll get a mouthful of wood!"

"But what's in here anyway?" Yugi wondered. "It looks completely bare, except for this spiral staircase going up. . . ."

"Then I guess that's where we're going!" Joey said. "Onward, troops!"

Yami Bakura glowered at the stone steps as they slowly went up each twist and turn. Nothing was happening, but he had a foreboding persistent enough that he was worried. He would have to keep a close watch on Bakura.

Yugi was the first to arrive at the top. As soon as he stepped onto the floor, he let out a gasp.

"Oh no! What is it?!" Téa cried. She rushed up to join him, and also gasped. "No way!"

The others hurried up to join them. "What the heck is the problem?!" Joey exclaimed. But then he saw.

On the wall was a series of portraits, each depicting one of their past failures. The one closest to the stairs showed Yami Bakura collapsed with the axe in his back. The next depicted Joey impaled on a spear. The third showed Yami Bakura cradling Bakura's lifeless and poisoned body. The last featured all of them fading into the dark. Under each painting was engraved R.I.P.

"Okay, now that's just sick," Tristan snarled. "Just what we'd expect of that psycho!"

Yami Bakura swore under his breath.

"Whatever is wrong?" Bakura asked. Despite Yami Bakura's attempt to block his view, he soon saw. He gasped in stricken alarm. "Yami Marik put up all of these horrible pictures to scare us?!"

"Something like that," Tristan said, not about to admit that they had actually happened.

"That's outrageous!" Bakura exclaimed.

"It doesn't look like there's anything else to see up here," Téa said, "except that it looks like this hall could go on forever!"

Everyone was struck silent with horror at the thought. An infinite amount of pictures could be placed along the hall, in many rows, and on both sides. And how many would actually fill this hall before they were free?

"Yeah, let's go back down," Tristan said in disgust. "We don't need to stick around here."

The group quickly retreated. To their relief, the table was still holding the wall open. They climbed over it and back into the hall. Bakura pulled the table away, replacing it in the hall.

Yami Bakura quickly noticed that his hands were shaking. "Those paintings really shook you up, eh?"

Bakura shuddered. "Oh Yami, they were horrible! . . . Well, I didn't really understand the last one, but the others were clear enough. I don't think I'll ever be able to get those images out of my mind!"

Yami Bakura gave a weary sigh. Hopefully in future rounds, if there were any more, Bakura would not have to see that room. He didn't particularly care to see it again himself.

"Just concentrate on the here and now," he said. "Don't think about graphic paintings. They're only paintings. Just remember that. The one who trapped you in here just wanted to shake you up."

"Aren't you bothered?" Bakura frowned. "You were dead in one of them. And . . . you were holding me in another. . . ."

Yami Bakura looked away, glowering at the wall. "What do you think?"

Bakura stepped closer to him. "I think you were very badly bothered."

"Of course I was bothered," Yami Bakura snapped, still half-trying to keep up the illusion of being The Dark Ruler. "Those paintings were the work of a sick mind."

"And a sadistic one." Bakura swallowed hard. "Yami, why won't you admit to who you are? Why won't any of you admit it?"

"You already came up with a theory for that," Yami Bakura retorted. "Don't you still believe it?"

"Well, I don't know," Bakura said. "I'm really not sure I do. None of you act like you're under a spell; you all act like your usual selves! But if you're not under a spell, then the only other explanation is that for some reason you feel you have to pretend not to know who you are. I suppose that could be the work of Yami Marik. Maybe he told you you have to act like that as a rule of this Shadow Game. That's what this is, isn't it?"

Yami Bakura growled. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I just have this feeling that I'm missing something," Bakura said with a sigh. "I only wish I knew what."

"Just focus on the here and now," Yami Bakura insisted. "We'll keep going down this hallway and maybe we'll find some other clues."

Bakura sighed again. "Alright, Yami."

"Hey, I've got an idea," Joey suddenly announced. "Let's go find the kitchen! Even if there's no clues, I always think better on a full stomach."

Téa facepalmed. "This isn't the time for a food break!"

"Food sounds pretty great to me right now too," Tristan said. "Maybe there'll even be some melons!"

"And then we can do our victory dance!" Joey hooted.

"Why not do it now?" Tristan countered. "For practice!"

Everybody stared when they draped their arms over each other's shoulders and started to dance down the hall and sing. "Can can, kick a little can can, show me who's the man man . . ."

Yami Bakura didn't often display utter shock, but he did now. "My shadow saw them do that in the Capsule Monsters world and I still don't believe it."

Bakura chuckled awkwardly and scratched his cheek. "Well, at least they're not letting this place get them down completely, I suppose. . . ." And then he started in realization. "Oh! Yami, you finally admitted to who you are!"

Yami Bakura growled. "Those dolts startled me so badly I wasn't thinking . . . although their actions already showed their identities. You're right that that demon imposed that rule on us and claimed something would go terribly wrong if we didn't follow through and pretend to be Duel Monsters. However, I'm not sure I believe him."

"Oh dear," Bakura worried.

"And hey, have either of you guys thought that going into the kitchen could be dangerous?!" Téa called after Joey and Tristan. "The food could be poisoned! Or maybe all the knives have been rigged to shishkabob intruders!"

The boys froze.

"Actually, no, we didn't think of that," Tristan admitted.

"So we'll just go in careful," Joey said.

"There's another problem," Yugi said. "We don't even know where the kitchen is!"

"Aww yeah." Joey frowned. "Seems like we would've run into it by now if it's down this way."

"Unless there's another secret passage leading there from here or something," Tristan suggested. He wasn't fully serious, but when he leaned on the wall and a panel swung open to send him inside, everyone jumped a mile.

"No way! For real?!" Joey ran over, but stumbled to a halt when Tristan gasped in pain.

"Yeah," Tristan mumbled, "but this . . . didn't lead to the kitchen." He straightened and staggered back into the hall, a knife caught in his ribcage in the one spot the armor over his upper torso didn't cover.

Bakura screamed. "Tristan!"

Yami Bakura swore. Tristan collapsed, bleeding heavily on the stone floor. Joey and Yugi immediately rushed to his aid, while Téa stood in horror.

"What do we do?!" she cried. "You're not supposed to remove the blade!"

"Well, it's not like we can call on the paramedics to do it!" Joey shot back. He pulled the knife out as Tristan choked back a cry.

Yugi bit his lip and tried to examine the wound. His hands shook. Before today, he had never seen such graphic injuries, and he really wasn't sure what to do now that he was looking at one. He felt like he was going to be sick.

Yami Bakura snarled and dropped to his knees next to the wounded boy. It was strange that they hadn't had a Game Over yet. Maybe only because Tristan was still alive. Or . . . was it because it wasn't a fatal wound and he could be saved?

He tore off part of his robe and pressed it against the cruel hole. Tristan started, staring at him with an expression that was a clear mix of fear, panic, and hatred. He struggled, trying to move away from him.

"Tristan, stop it!" Yami Bakura snapped. "Even if you can't believe I care about you, can't you recognize that I don't want anything more to happen to Bakura?!"

Bakura blinked rapidly, bewildered. "Me? But . . . what have I got to do with this?! It's Tristan who's hurt!"

"Out of everyone here, I most likely know the most about wounds," Yami Bakura continued. "Hold still and let me work!"

Tristan just glowered. "If you have to treat me, I'd rather be dead," he coldly rasped.

Yami Bakura stared at him. The others gasped.

"Tristan?!" Téa exclaimed. "You don't really mean that!"

Bakura turned away. "After everything he said earlier, I could almost believe he does, but . . ." He slowly shook his head. "I didn't think he'd feel that strongly about it. . . ." Tears pricked his eyes, but he blinked them back.

Yugi was frowning, deeply. "I don't think Tristan does mean it," he said. "Look at this knife! Does the handle remind you guys of anything?!"

They looked.

"It looks kind of like that Blade of Chaos I had to pull out of that Red Eyes," Joey said. "But that's the thing—I pulled it out and he was okay! But Tristan's still acting screwy even with the knife out!"

"Remember, this is Yami Marik's world," Yugi said. "Maybe the weapon wouldn't work the same as that other one did. Or . . . it could even be another type of poison. . . ."

Yami Bakura growled. "In any case, this wound is bad. He's losing too much blood in spite of what I'm trying to do to stop it. I don't think there's anything I can do."

"No!" Téa cried. "Keep trying! Please!"

Tristan looked up at Yami Bakura and hissed a curse under his breath. But as his eyes started to cloud over and close, they flickered with a horrified spark as he realized what he had been saying. Then he was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

_True Reality_

Tristan stared in sickened shock as Atem reached this part of the story. "I don't remember anything like that happening," he said sorrowfully. "I really acted like that?"

"Yes," Atem said. "But Yugi was right; you weren't in your right mind."

"That's not much consolation," Tristan frowned. "Even when I didn't trust Yami Bakura, I just can't feature myself treating him like that when he was trying to help me. Especially after he came back when Zorc was gone."

"You felt badly when time reset as well," Atem said gravely. "So much so that you let go of your pride and admitted it."

_True Night_

Everyone was badly shaken as they became aware that time had reset and they were once more in the great hall. Only Bakura, peacefully sleeping on the couch, was unaware of the chaos and heartache that they had just come through.

"Tristan!" Yugi exclaimed. "Are you okay now?!"

Tristan turned to look at Yugi, his eyes haunted. "Okay?!" he retorted. "I acted like a complete jerk back there!"

"It's okay, man," Joey told him. "Yug was probably right about something in that knife infecting you."

"Maybe so, but I still feel lousy about it," Tristan shot back.

"Well, if you really feel bad, it's not Joey, Téa, and me you need to apologize to," Yugi said gently.

Tristan looked away. "Yeah, I know." He stole a glance at Yami Bakura, who was deliberately not looking at him and focusing on Bakura instead. Heaving a deep breath, Tristan walked over to him and touched him on the sleeve. "Hey. . . ."

Yami Bakura gave him a slight sideways glance.

"Look, I'm really sorry about what I said," Tristan blurted. "I know we don't see eye to eye, and I still don't like you, but what I said was out of line and messed up. I don't know what came over me."

Yami Bakura gave a vague shrug. "That demon may be trying to make the problems between us even worse."

Tristan scowled. "I can tell you're hurt anyway."

"There wouldn't be much point in feeling hurt." Yami Bakura straightened. "And my feelings don't matter. The only thing that matters is getting out of this mess. And according to that fiend, it's all or nothing. I can't get Bakura out of here without all the rest of you coming along as well. You don't have any reason to trust or like me, but know that I am not your enemy here. I will not hurt you or any of the others."

"Is that the only reason, though?" Yugi said quietly. "Just because we have to be safe in order to save Bakura?"

Yami Bakura frowned. "Why not look at the evidence? Since I returned, have I given you any real reason to believe I will hurt you or come after you?"

"No," Yugi said. "Your goals are gone. Zorc is gone. You're free of him now, and you're yourself again. I never would have believed it in the past, but you're not a bad person. You love Bakura, and you're willing to do whatever it takes to protect him. Somehow he worked his way into your heart, probably without even trying to. I think he saved you. And now that you've been showing you care about him, he loves you in turn." He smiled. "I think that's great. And I also think that now that you're not poisoned by Zorc or the Millennium Ring, you don't want to see us hurt. I think you'd help us even if that wasn't the only way to get Bakura home."

Yami Bakura looked at Yugi in disbelief. Then, slowly, he nodded. "Yes. That's true."

Bakura stirred. "Yugi?" He opened his eyes, looking at his friend in joyous awe. "You really feel better about Yami now?"

Yugi smiled at him. "Yeah."

"Joey and Tristan were just worried about you, Bakura, but Yugi and I didn't really agree with everything they were saying," Téa said. "And now, I think maybe even they're having some kind of change of heart."

"Really?" Bakura looked from her to them. "Why?"

"It's a long story," Joey said. "About as long as why we're dressed up like Duel Monsters. But right now we've gotta figure out how to get out of this mess and go home. How do you feel about that?"

"Wonderful," Bakura said with a blink. "Only I didn't know we weren't home."

"That's . . . another long story," Téa sighed.

"Just look around, Bakura," Joey said. "This clearly ain't home sweet home."

Bakura looked. "This building looks awfully run-down," he remarked.

"Eh?" Everyone followed his gaze and then stared in disbelief at the walls.

"Uh, guys?" Tristan gulped. "Remember my one crack? It looks like it was contagious!"

"No way!" Yugi exclaimed. "Now there are several cracks on the walls, all of different shapes and sizes!"

"This is too weird," Téa moaned. "It's like the castle is slowly breaking down around us!"

"Maybe it is," Bakura worried. "If we don't solve the mystery of how to get out of here within a certain amount of time, maybe the castle will collapse on us!"

"We shouldn't count out the possibility," Yugi said. "We need to move fast, but not rashly. There must be a reason each crack has appeared."

"Well, maybe they represent the number of times we've . . ." Joey trailed off as Téa elbowed him in the ribs. "Hey!"

"They could represent the number of times we've tried to find a way out," Téa finished, hoping Bakura wouldn't question it.

"Oh dear. I suppose if it's a castle, it could go on and on, just like Pegasus's castle," Bakura said.

"Exactly," Tristan nodded. "Maybe we should start making a map of the place."

"Is there even any paper around here?" Téa looked around the room.

"We could try this desk." Bakura walked over and opened it. "Yes, there's some writing paper and a pen in here." He took out a sheet. "Now, where all have you been?"

"First, draw a round room to be this place," Tristan directed.

"Alright." Bakura did so.

"Now, first we tried this path," Tristan tapped a spot on the drawing that was an approximation of the first doorway's location. "After two booby traps, we gave up."

Yugi nodded. "Then we tried this path over here. There was one booby trap, but mostly it was a red herring, dead-end path."

"And then we tried a third path," Téa said. "There were a lot of secret panels, but so far no exit."

"And there are five other doors besides the front doors," Yami Bakura said. "Obviously some of them must eventually lead to other floors in the castle."

"And I'll bet we'll also discover that this is only the smallest portion of the place!" Joey said in frustration. "There's probably a ton of rooms and this is just one wing or something!"

"Then we'd better get started," Bakura said. "And maybe we should split up to cover more ground."

"No one should go alone," Tristan said.

"We'll go in two groups of three each," Yami Bakura said.

Once the groups set out, each choosing a different door, Yami Bakura soon saw that his group's path was going to lead to the coveted kitchen. He tensed, not trusting the idea of that room at all. Of course, every one of the rooms could have some kind of booby trap. Or maybe Yami Marik would decide not to booby trap the kitchen, knowing that they would be expecting it. Maybe he would booby-trap other rooms, such as the bedrooms.

"Yami?" Bakura came alongside him, his eyes filled with concern. "There are still things you're not telling me, aren't there?"

Yami Bakura grunted. "Like what?"

"I don't know what," Bakura sighed. "I just feel like something is missing, like you must surely know more than you're saying about what's happening. It's all too strange. For instance, why did Yami Marik put us in this Shadow Game in the first place?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Yami Bakura retorted. "You know he loves chaos and misery any way he can get it."

"Yes, but it just seems so random," Bakura said.

"It isn't," Yami Bakura grunted. "Not to him. Any time is a good time for heartache."

"And what is the heartache he's brought on you, Yami?" Bakura asked. "I know being trapped here isn't pleasant, but there must be more hanging over your head than that."

"Nevermind," Yami Bakura snapped. "There are other things to worry about right now."

They reached a half-open door and Tristan went out ahead of them, pushing it open the rest of the way with his weapon. "It's the kitchen," he announced. "So far it doesn't seem dangerous."

"I still wouldn't recommend eating anything," Yami Bakura growled.

"Let me just see what they've got," Tristan pleaded.

Yami Bakura gave him a dark look. "If this puts Bakura in danger . . ."

"Well, we do need to eat, after all," Bakura said. "Food sounds good to me too, Yami. Although I must admit, eating food in a world created by Yami Marik doesn't seem the wisest thing to do. . . ."

"Of course it isn't a wise thing to do!" Yami Bakura burst out. "It's one of the most idiotic things anyone could do!"

"Okay, okay." Tristan frowned at him. "I get the point." He turned around. "I won't check the kitchen."

"I'm sure that would be best," Bakura said. "Better to be a little hungry than hurt."

"So where should we look now?" Tristan wondered with a sigh.

"Let's see if we can go upstairs," Yami Bakura grunted. "It's odd that we haven't found any way up yet."

"There might be a back stairway through the kitchen, you know," Tristan pointed out.

"And where are the front stairs?!" Yami Bakura exclaimed in frustration.

"This entire castle is strange," Bakura said. He walked back down the hall a bit. "I wonder if we might find a solution if we . . ." He trailed off as he stepped on a strange stone that lowered and sunk his foot into the floor. He jumped away with a gasp, memories of Pegasus's sadistic cave running through his mind.

Yami Bakura was thinking the same thing. He grabbed Bakura and pulled him down . . . but not before he heard the horrific sound of an arrow slamming into the boy's body, fired from a statue of an Amazon Archer. Bakura flinched, crying out in pain.

"I'll get it out," Yami Bakura insisted as they hit the floor. "I'll get it out and you'll be fine. Do you hear me, Bakura?! You'll be fine!"

He felt Bakura go slack in his arms.

"No. . . ." In horrified disbelief, he touched his fingers to Bakura's neck.

Tristan ran over. "What happened?!"

Yami Bakura looked up with a jerk, his eyes burning. As everything faded to black, he gave Tristan a dark and cold look.

****

It was a relief when time reset again and Yami Bakura felt Bakura stirring in his arms. For a moment he held the boy close, just celebrating the fact that at least for a while, the nightmare was again over and Bakura was once more alive.

"H-Hey. . . ." Tristan sounded shaken as he approached. "You know I didn't want anything to happen to Bakura. . . ."

Yami Bakura growled. "I knew going to the kitchen was a bad idea."

"We do have to explore everywhere," Yugi said.

"Yeah, seriously," Joey frowned at Yami Bakura. "It could've been your decision that got Bakura hurt again."

"At least I wasn't thinking with my stomach!" Yami Bakura retorted.

"Guys, please don't fight," Yugi begged.

Téa's attention was elsewhere. "Hey," she gasped. "Look!" She pointed at the wall.

Everyone looked. One of the cracks was closing up.

"Okay, now what's up with that?" Tristan blinked.

"That's really weird," Yugi worried. "We found more cracks forming the more time reset, but now one of them is closing up when you and Yami Bakura argued. Could there be any significance in that?"

"Well, this is a backwards world," Joey said. "Maybe since Yami Marik loves chaos, chaotic things going on actually fix damage to the castle instead of causing it?"

"Then what made the cracks?" Téa countered. "I thought they were just a symbol of all the times we've tried to save Bakura and failed, but maybe not."

"I'm starting to have the feeling that we're going to need to figure that out before we can solve this Shadow Game," Yugi said, "and that really worries me. I don't know how much time we've got before time runs out."

"It's kind of funny that there haven't been any other real rooms either," Joey said. "Where the heck are they?!"

"Well, we found the kitchen," Tristan sighed.

The sudden sound of a piano echoing somewhere in the castle startled them all.

"Okay, what's up with that?!" Joey yelped. "That's never happened before!"

"Maybe it's a new clue?" Yugi hoped. "Let's follow the music and try to find the source."

"It had better not lead to another bad ending," Yami Bakura growled.

Bakura stretched and opened his eyes. "Oh . . . hello." He blinked up at Yami Bakura, looking confused as to why he was laying in the man's arms. Yami Bakura had never set him down on the couch, but was kneeling on it.

Yami Bakura loosened his grip. "How are you feeling?"

Bakura gave him a sleepy smile. "I'm alright. Although . . ." He sat up and reached around to rub at his back. "My back hurts. . . . Was I laying in some funny way?"

"No." Yami Bakura stared at him, then looked to Yugi. Bakura wasn't supposed to remember what happened, and he was not wounded now. Why did he seem to have a lingering effect from it?

Yugi could only give a helpless shrug. He didn't understand it either, but it worried him.

"Everyone's acting so strangely." Bakura got off the couch, stumbled, and straightened. "And who's playing the piano?"

"We don't know," Yami Bakura said. "We were going to go see."

"Let's do that then," Bakura said, heading for the door.

Joey followed him. "Uh . . . isn't there anything you'd like to ask us about?" he wondered. "Like why we're dressed like this? Something? Anything?"

"Oh." Bakura paused and looked back at him and the rest. "It did cross my mind that it was odd. I suppose I figured that this is all just a dream. It is, isn't it?"

"A nightmare is more like it," Tristan muttered.

Joey scratched his head as they set out to find the source of the piano music. A lot of things were going oddly in this reset, moreso than usual. Something didn't seem right about any of it. But everyone else was just as baffled as he was. There was nothing to do but to keep going.

The sound of the music led them down one of the untraveled paths. The stone castle was excellent at carrying the music to them, and the more they walked, the louder it grew. But despite its volume, Yugi was soon looking to a wall they were passing. He had also heard a sound coming from it—a much less desirable one.

Without warning, a large statue started to tip. Yugi responded instantaneously, blasting it back before it could hurt anyone.

Bakura jumped a mile. "Oh my!"

Yami Bakura growled. "That's likely only the first of many obstacles down this path. Stay on your guard!" He wished that he could just take Bakura and shield him from whatever might come at them, but unfortunately he could not. There was only so much he could do, which all of these other resets had been proving.

The only other oddity on the way to the music room was a strange tile on the floor with a large spider's image. But that was more than enough to set off alarm bells in everyone's minds.

"Hey, there was a tile just like that in the Paradox Brothers' maze," Joey remembered.

"Yeah, and the Landmine Spider came out of it!" Yugi exclaimed. "Everyone, stay away from that tile!"

No one needed convincing.

"So does that mean there are enemy Duel Monsters in this castle?" Téa said in horror.

"Maybe that's why you're all dressed up like Duel Monsters—to fight them off," Bakura suggested.

"Well, it's a logical reason," Joey mused.

"Here's the music room." Yugi hesitated, then pushed open the door.

No one had been sure what to expect, but it definitely wasn't the sight of a strange figure in a hooded robe playing an eerie melody on an antique piano. Candelabras on either side of the piano were loaded down with candles, which flickered in the wind as Yugi opened the door. Despite the candles, there were sconces with electric lights on the walls, as well as a larger light on the ceiling. All were bathing the room in their soft glows.

Yugi stepped onto the red carpet as he walked into the room. "Uh, hello? What's going on in here?"

The figure kept playing.

"This is just creepy," Téa moaned. "Maybe we should go."

"It could be an important clue," Tristan protested. "We need to know more." He marched into the room and over to the piano. "Hey! Didn't you hear? My friend was talking to you!" He grabbed the figure's shoulder and went stiff. "What the . . ."

"What is it, Tristan?" Joey came closer. "H-Hey, his hands are awfully pale. . . ." He swallowed hard.

Yami Bakura figured it out first. "Get away! All of you!" he barked. He grabbed Bakura, pulling him back into the hall.

"Yami! What on Earth?!" Bakura cried.

Yugi's eyes widened. "Guys, he's right! Don't stand there next to him! Move, now!"

"What's the problem, Yug . . . whoa!" Joey yelped and practically fell out of the way as the figure floated away from the piano and took up a huge, deadly weapon that had been resting on the other side of it.

"It's the Reaper of the Cards!" Tristan said in disbelief. He shot at it with his weapon as he leaped back.

"What's the Grim Reaper doin' playin' the piano?!" Joey wailed.

"Does it matter?!" Yami Bakura shot back. "Get away, you fool!"

Joey and Tristan both ran desperately for the doorway, getting stuck in it when they arrived at the same time. "Hey!" they yelped, frantically struggling and failing to free themselves in their panic.

Yugi and Téa both facepalmed. "Guys, come on!" Yugi cried.

Yami Bakura grabbed each by the hand, pulling them free of the doorway just as the Reaper's scythe flashed. He snarled as it cut through the material of his robes.

"Yami!" Bakura screamed.

"I'm alright," Yami Bakura insisted. "It didn't break the skin. Run!"

They all fled down the hall, only realizing too late that they were running deeper into the castle instead of going back the way they had come. Above them, new lights lit up to guide their path.

"Well, maybe we're in luck this time, guys," Yugi said hopefully. "It looks like the game is helping us instead of hurting us!"

"I'll believe it when I see what happens down this way," Tristan said.

Their footsteps thundered down the stone halls.


	6. Chapter 6

_True Night_

The group finally ran through a half-open doorway into a bedroom. Tristan slammed the door after them and locked it before slumping against it in relief. "Whew. . . ."

"You know," Téa suddenly remarked, "if we really do have the Duel Monsters' powers, we're all stronger than the Reaper of the Cards."

"That's true," Yugi said. "Maybe one of us will have to go back out there and face him. But for now, getting everybody to safety seemed like the best choice."

"We just ran pell-mell down the hallway," Yami Bakura growled. "We could have run right into another trap."

"But we didn't." Joey grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. "And you really came through for Tristan and me. Thanks."

Yami Bakura gave a nod. "It needed to be done."

"I always wondered how you escaped from him when you got thrown into the game," Joey said. "So what was your secret?"

Yami Bakura looked away. "I didn't escape." The memory of that moment of terror, the fall of the scythe, the pain . . . all went through his eyes in the next moment.

"Yami?" Bakura went over to him. "You always said that you came back because you were bound to me. . . ."

"And that is true. But it didn't mean I wasn't hurt first." Yami Bakura subconsciously brought a hand to his chest. "I was cut down and everything went black. Then I awakened lying on the floor of my soul room."

"Oh Yami. . . ." Bakura came closer and embraced him. "I'm so sorry. . . ."

Yami Bakura gruffly put an arm around him. "It couldn't have been helped. You had to fight against me. Anyway, it was the Pharaoh who put me into the game. Strange." He stared off into the distance. "You were willing to sacrifice yourself, but it never occurred to you to have me hurt. You didn't want me hurt, just defeated."

"I never thought about that before," Joey blinked.

"It was true," Bakura said softly. "I never thought of having us switch places. I wanted Yami stopped, and I didn't want to be his pawn, but I didn't want him hurt. Actually, I once promised to help him get all the Millennium Items."

"WHAT?!" Joey and Tristan yelped in equal shock and disbelief.

"I was just a child when the Millennium Ring came to me," Bakura said. "Yami told me that the Millennium Items were all his and I quite innocently said I'd help him get them. I didn't know what that would entail at the time. Later, once I knew, I knew I couldn't keep my promise."

"Well, you learn something new every day," Tristan grunted.

Yami Bakura frowned at him. "I hope that won't change your feelings about Bakura. He was an innocent boy and I saw that. I thought I could get him to willingly help me. And of course, I honestly believed the Items were mine."

"It'll take some getting used to." Tristan sat on the bed.

"Let's talk about something else," Téa said. "Like, maybe there's a clue in this room that could help us."

"The only clue I see is that maybe Yami Marik set up this bedroom for you, Téa," Tristan said, "since it's pink."

"You think he made up rooms for each of us?" Téa said in disbelief.

"As if we even stay alive long enough to use them," Joey muttered.

Bakura looked to him with a jerk. "What?!"

Joey jumped a mile. "Nothing!" he quickly exclaimed, waving his hands.

"That's actually a really interesting thought, Tristan," Yugi said. "Maybe if we explore up and down this hall, we'll find rooms designed with each of us in mind."

"Yeah, but who has the courage to actually stay alone anywhere in here?" Joey gulped, his knees quaking.

"We wouldn't have to," Yugi said. "But we could explore the rooms as a group and see if there are any clues hidden in them."

"Maybe in here?" Téa walked over and opened the drawer to the nightstand beside the bed. "Hey, there is something in here!" She took out what looked like a diary.

Joey blinked at it. "Are those pages actually written on?"

Téa opened it and briefly skimmed through the pages. After a moment she slowly closed it, clearly stricken.

"What is it?" Yugi gasped.

Téa just shook her head and handed it to him. Yugi took it, blinking in confusion and concern. But when he opened it, his eyes widened in disbelief. "It's written in your handwriting!"

"But I didn't write it!" Téa exclaimed.

_There's something wrong with my room. I'm not sure exactly what, yet, but it just feels wrong. Maybe I'm too suspicious, but I just can't believe any of our rooms are booby-trap free._

"It goes on to detail all the searches made trying to find what's wrong," Téa said. "At the last page, it says that there's only one solution left and it trails off!"

"And there's blood." Yugi swallowed hard.

"Oh my," Bakura gasped.

"Well, if we're going to stay in here, we'll have to know what's safe and what isn't," Yami Bakura said impatiently. "In fact, we also need to know if we're going to leave, so we'll know if the door is safe to touch again." He held out his hand. "Give me the book."

Yugi handed it over and Yami Bakura flipped through it, announcing various places checked that seemed to be alright.

"I don't understand it," Bakura said, peering over his shoulder. "According to this, every spot seems to have been checked. What's left?"

Yami Bakura frowned, contemplating. Everything had been checked . . . except one thing. Suddenly he threw the diary across the room, where it hit the wall and burst into flame. "The book itself."

Everyone jumped.

"Oh man, I wasn't expecting that one," Joey cried. "What the heck?!"

Yami Bakura growled. "Let's get out of here. We'll fight the Reaper of the Cards, if he's still waiting, and keep going."

"Works for me," Joey said.

Yami Bakura decided to go first. He went over to the door, cautiously opening it. The scythe swung at him from the hall and he only barely jumped away in time. "Be gone!" he snarled, holding out both hands. A strange energy burst from them and hit the Reaper of the Cards, defeating him.

Everyone stood in silence for a moment.

"Whew," Joey said at last. "So we do have the Duel Monsters' powers here. That's awesome!"

"Yes, but I wouldn't be surprised if that means you really will have to fight many enemy Duel Monsters," Bakura worried. "And I don't have any such powers! How can I even help?!"

"You can help by staying safe," Yami Bakura said gruffly as they advanced into the hall.

Bakura frowned. "But I want to help in more ways than that! I don't want to be a weakling everyone needs to protect!"

Yugi smiled a bit of a wistful smile. "I'm sure there'll be something you can do, Bakura."

They walked next-door and Yami Bakura pushed open the door. Another bedroom, this one accented in dark blues and black. "This one is perhaps your room," he said to Yugi.

"Or yours," Joey said. "You like those colors too."

"Yes, but would my room be next to Téa's? . . . It's possible," Yami Bakura amended, and went inside. The others followed.

"Well, we can't expect another booby-trap in a book," Bakura remarked. "There must be something else wrong in here."

Yami Bakura looked around with narrowed eyes, tense, half-expecting the next disaster to suddenly catch them as they stood here, staring at the room. But nothing happened, and he growled as he slowly took several steps forward.

"If this is your room, Yami Marik probably loaded it down with booby traps," Tristan remarked.

"Thanks for that bit of cheer," Yami Bakura said with dripping sarcasm.

"Seriously, though," Joey said. "You'd think we'd have found something by now. Like, that just looking at the room would cause something to go wrong." He took a few steps forward in another direction.

"Maybe this room won't have any traps," Yugi suggested. "He'd know we'd think it would, so he'd trick us and not have any."

"You mean like reverse psychology?" Joey blinked.

"Something like that," Yugi said.

"He'd do it," Téa scowled.

"Well, I say we shouldn't take any chances," Joey quavered. "We should turn around and get out of here right now!"

"But what if there's some kind of clue that would help us?" Bakura ventured to the chest of drawers and opened one.

"Anything?" Joey asked, peering over his shoulder.

"I'm afraid not." Bakura shut the drawer again.

"The biggest clue we've got around here seems to be those cracks in the wall," Tristan grumbled. "I still say we need to figure out what those are about. If they don't represent . . ." He trailed off just in time.

Bakura turned to him. "Well? What were you going to say, Tristan?"

"Nevermind," Tristan said. Bluffing, he added, "I lost my train of thought."

Yami Bakura nodded in approval. The last thing they needed was for Tristan to slip and say time resets in front of Bakura. That was one thing he was sure Yami Marik was right about. They could not let Bakura know that they were trapped in a repeating nightmare all to save him.

Bakura, however, was not pleased. "I'm still sure that there's something all of you are keeping from me," he said. "I wish you wouldn't; we can't afford to have secrets from each other in a situation like this!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Bakura," Joey said, much too airily.

Bakura frowned. "It's not funny, Joey! You certainly thought I needed to know exactly what you still think of Yami. But now we're stranded in a Shadow Game and you don't think I need to know all the rules?!"

"You know all the rules," Tristan interrupted. "We're trapped, we've gotta find a way out and get home. Period. And stay away from booby traps."

"What if we can't?" Bakura worried. "What happens if one of us falls into one?"

"What do you think would happen?" Yami Bakura countered.

"Well . . . I think someone would get very hurt," Bakura said. "If not worse." He shuddered.

"Then be careful." Yami Bakura went back to the door. "I don't see any need to hang around here. Let's look someplace else for clues."

"Maybe there's still something else," Joey suggested. "We haven't checked around the bed yet." He went over to the canopy bed and tried tapping on first the footboard, then the pillar next to it. "Eh, maybe there really isn't anything."

The bed creaked and groaned from the sudden, brief pressure. "Joey, look out!"

Joey yelped as he was pushed away just as the bedposts flew in all directions. One hit his rescuer and he heard a strange whimpering cry, then silence.

Yami Bakura swore. "Bakura!" He ran over and dropped to his knees. Bakura was laying lifeless on the floor on his side, where he had fallen after saving Joey. His hair had flown up around his face, but it couldn't hide the crimson that was starting to soak through the white locks.

Joey spun around. "Aww no! Bakura . . ." He swallowed hard. "Is he . . ."

Yami Bakura didn't answer. He moved the locks away from Bakura's left temple. Blood was everywhere. The boy was definitely not breathing. Badly shaken, Yami Bakura took Bakura in his arms and just held him close as he prayed for a fast reset.

_True Reality_

"Man, how many times did we have to start over?" Joey wondered. By now the thunder and lightning had stopped, but the rain was still beating on the windows in earnest.

Atem shook his head. "I'm afraid I stopped counting after a while. I was sickened, horrified, and very, very angry. Yami Marik, of course, was relishing every cruel moment of it. Bakura died the most, but each of you was the victim at least once."

"Were there any clues in the rooms?" Tristan wondered. "Or was everything just one big set-up for booby trap after booby trap?"

"Mostly the latter," Atem admitted, "but there were actual clues as well. The cracks you noticed were probably the most important clue."

"Really?" Tristan blinked in bewilderment.

"Really," Atem nodded.

Yami Bakura folded his arms. "What happened when time reset the next time? Was I infuriated at Joey for inadvertently creating the disaster that sent Bakura to his next death?"

"I'm sure I was infuriated at me," Joey muttered.

"Both are true," Atem confessed. "The more time reset, the more all of your nerves were stretched to their limits and beyond. There were many arguments."

"And did the cracks keep closing up when we argued?" Téa wondered with a shiver. "That was really creepy."

"Yes," Atem said. "But also, as time reset, more and more cracks were found. But the resets themselves were not the cause."

"How much longer are you gonna keep us in suspense?!" Joey exclaimed. "Why were the cracks such a big clue?!"

"Let's see if any of you can figure out the meaning behind the cracks before I get to the point in the story where you realized the truth," Atem replied.

_True Night_

Yami Bakura was furious when time reset. "Look what you caused!" he snarled at Joey. "Your foolishness caused Bakura's death!"

He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but Joey responding with a disgusted, "Yeah, I sure did. I'm the worst," wasn't it.

"Hey, come on, guys," Yugi protested. "Any of us could have caused that to happen. And the bad feelings are causing weird things to happen again. Look up at the wall! A crack is closing!"

They looked.

Yami Bakura growled. What frightened him most was that Yugi was right. Maybe this time, he would do something that would cause Bakura's death. He wasn't sure he could bear that.

"I've gotta make sure nothing like that happens again," Joey vowed. "We're supposed to protect Bakura, not let him get eighty-sixed trying to protect us!"

"Then we'll have to be alert for anything that could harm us, because if Bakura sees it and we don't, of course he will jump to protect us," Yami Bakura said.

"He sure would," Téa said softly.

"That creep!" Joey snarled. "I bet Artichoke Head will deliberately try to put in all kinds of situations like that!"

"You know it," Tristan agreed in disgust.

Bakura stirred. "Oh . . . what's going on?" He sat up, blinking sleepily at everyone.

"Long story short, we're trapped in this weird place and we need to get out," Tristan said. "We've tried several paths already with no luck."

"Well, then we'll just have to try another," Bakura determined. He got off the couch. At the same time, he really processed how the others were dressed. "My goodness . . . what's the meaning behind this?" he wondered.

"This is just how we ended up when we got here," Téa said truthfully.

"And yet I'm not playing a Duel Monster," Bakura mused. "How strange."

No one volunteered an answer.

They picked one of the remaining paths they hadn't tried. To their surprise as they took it, a large staircase loomed in front of them once they were through the doorway.

"Weird that we didn't see this from the grand hall," Tristan blinked.

"Who cares?!" Joey retorted. "We finally found the stairs, baby!" He ran towards them and leaped up, two stairs at a time.

"Joey, wait up!" Téa called as the others gave chase.

"There might be more booby-traps!" Yugi added.

But to their surprise, they made it up the stairs without anything going wrong.

"How about that!" Joey exclaimed at the top. "We actually made it up here!"

"Yeah, but now what?" Tristan retorted. "We just keep exploring rooms and finding booby traps?"

"We don't have much other choice," Yugi said softly.

Yami Bakura growled. "This was too easy," he proclaimed. "I can't believe that demon wouldn't throw some kind of a monkey wrench into this situation."

"Seriously?" Joey frowned at him. "Can't you just be glad we got up here safe?"

"Not when I can't believe it will stay that way," Yami Bakura retorted.

A shadow suddenly swooped in front of them.

"What's that?!" Joey yelped.

"Vampire Lord!" Yugi cried. "And there's more than one!"

Indeed, it seemed to be a flock of Vampire Lords. Worse, some of them were equipped with various power boosts. They lunged as a group, swinging their swords and baring their teeth.

"Brace yourselves, guys!" Yugi cried.

Tristan, Joey, and Yami Bakura scrambled to get in front of the others. Tristan had enough power to fight the unequipped Vampire Lords, while Joey and Yami Bakura could take on the others, depending on their assorted power levels. Helpless, Yugi, Téa, and Bakura watched and worried.

"Hey, this isn't so bad," Tristan said as he blasted one.

"Yeah, but remember the special ability of these things?!" Joey retorted. "They're supposed to come back from the dead!"

"So how do we really destroy them?!" Tristan said in horror.

"They only come back if they're destroyed by a card effect," Yami Bakura said. "Monsters with higher attack points can destroy them and keep them destroyed."

Téa gripped her staff. "Oh . . . I wish we could help!" she fretted.

"There must be power-ups for us here too," Yugi said. "We just have to find them!"

Bakura clenched his fists. "And there's nothing I can do at all!"

Another Vampire Lord flew overhead, launching itself right at Tristan.

"Tristan, look out!" Bakura cried in horror.

Tristan whirled, catching it with his weapon. But he wasn't able to stop a second Vampire Lord from grabbing him from behind and sinking its fangs into his cheek. "AUGH!"

Yami Bakura blasted the creature away and ran over. "You're infected?!"

Tristan held a hand up to his cheek. "Well, it bit me," he said through gritted teeth. "But do Duel Monster Vampires turn people into vampires like other vampires do?"

"No way!" Joey exclaimed. "It can't!"

"They are depicted as doing such during holographic games," Yami Bakura said, "but I don't know about the real thing." He frowned. "However, their special ability allows them to discard an opponent's card. Perhaps that is the Duel Monsters' version of becoming infected by a vampire."

Téa gripped her staff, staring in disbelief. "But . . . if Tristan becomes a vampire, will he . . ."

"Try to attack the rest of you?" Tristan doubled over in pain. "I . . . I won't let that happen."

"Of course you won't!" Joey snapped. "You'll overcome it, just like I fought against Marik mind-controlling me!"

"I . . . don't think it'll be that easy," Tristan rasped. "I can feel it now. . . . It's a feral kind of urge . . . smelling blood . . . wanting more than anything to feed. . . ." He opened one eye. "Someone's gonna have to stop me before I lose complete control. . . ."

"Stop you?!" Téa echoed. "You don't mean . . ."

"The way a vampire has to be stopped, with a stake through the heart," Tristan said.

"What?! We can't just attack you?!" Joey exclaimed.

"The problem is, me turning into a vampire . . . it looks like the Vampire Lord's attack points are getting added on to what I already have," Tristan said. "So I'm more powerful than any of you. Your magic attacks won't work."

"Then can't we try a cross?!" Bakura cried. "I have one. . . ." He dug in his pocket and pulled it out.

Tristan shouted in pain and stumbled back. "Yeah, it'll hold me off," he agreed, "but it's not a permanent fix. If somebody stakes me, time will reset and I'll be normal again. Come on . . ." He fell to one knee, holding both hands to his head. "Something has to be done now!"

Joey was practically hysterical. "You can't really expect any of us to do something like that to you!" he cried. "This is crazy! You can fight this, Tristan! I know you can!"

Tristan snarled and straightened, and through the visor, his eyes had gone red. "Oh, you're in for it now, Wheeler," he hissed. He lunged with elongated canine teeth bared. At the last possible second he swerved away, shaking. "No!"

"You can fight it, Tristan!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Of course you can!" Téa agreed. "None of us are going to hurt you!"

Tristan gripped the wall. "I . . . I don't expect any of you to," he managed to say. His eyes flickered back to hazel for one moment. "You." He pointed a trembling finger at Yami Bakura. "You do it."

"What?!" Yami Bakura stared at him.

"Grab a table, pull off the leg, and come at me," Tristan insisted. "It should be easy for you, right?"

Yami Bakura clenched his fists. "I'm not fused with Zorc anymore. I don't attack those who do not deserve it."

"Yeah?" Tristan's eyes went red again and he sneered. "Well, I don't have that problem."

"Tristan, no!" Bakura cried. "You can't! You'll never forgive yourself!"

"Shut up." Tristan grabbed for Yugi, who leaped out of the way just in time.

Téa protectively put her arms around Yugi from behind in desperation. "What are we going to do?!"

"Not what Tristan wants, that's for sure!" Joey snarled. "There's gotta be another way!"

Yami Bakura wasn't sure he believed it. And something else was odd—the other vampires were still there as well, but they were standing by and letting Tristan do all the fighting. Why?

Tristan went at Joey again now. The Brooklyn boy yelped and tried to punch at him, but instead Tristan sank his teeth into Joey's clenched fist. Joey swore, pulling his hand back. "Oh great. Now I'm gonna turn too!"

"No!" Téa wailed.

Yami Bakura growled. Not saying more, he ran to the nearest table and lifted it high, then dropped it hard enough to break it. Taking two legs out of the wreckage, he turned back to the scene.

Bakura was staring at him in disbelief. "Yami, you can't!"

It was only then that Yami Bakura remembered Tristan had slipped and mentioned time resetting in front of Bakura. Apparently the situation was so dire and the boy was so upset that it hadn't sunk in. That was certainly for the better, even though Bakura wouldn't remember any of this later.

"I have to!" Yami Bakura shot back.

Tristan just laughed. "Let's go, boys."

Now the other vampires came to life, swarming the group as a whole. Téa blasted at one in warning, bewildered. "What's going on?!"

"The one I destroyed," Yami Bakura realized. "It transferred its essence to Tristan. It must have been the leader; that's why all the others are obeying Tristan now!"

Joey hissed in pain, holding a hand to his head. "I'm being called to join in too," he rasped. "I . . . I'll hold the transformation off as long as possible."

"And you'll make it, Joey!" Yugi insisted. "You and Tristan both will!"

At the very moment he was saying that, Tristan was lunging at him from behind, teeth bared. Yugi didn't see or hear him, but Yami Bakura did. He blasted Tristan, sending him back against the wall. Before he could recover, Yami Bakura was upon him, desperately trying to drive the splintered table leg through the armor by striking it with the other leg.

"Yami, you can't do it!" Bakura screamed. "There has to be another way!" He started to run forward.

Yami Bakura growled under his breath. "You may not forgive me for this, Bakura, but at least you won't remember it before long."

He pierced the armor just as Tristan reached for him with both hands. Another vampire came at him from the side, trying to sink its fangs into his neck.

Tristan screamed in pain just before that could happen.

Everyone else screamed in anguish and horror.

And blackness covered them all again.


	7. Chapter 7

_True Reality_

"No way!" Tristan exclaimed in disbelieving horror.

"That's the worst time we had yet," Yugi decided. His eyes were wide, filled with his own horror.

"Okay, now that's just demented," Joey proclaimed.

"What, that Yami Marik turned me into a vampire or that Yami Bakura staked me?" Tristan retorted.

"Both!" Joey said.

"What a horrible situation," Téa gasped, shuddering. "Tristan did get back to normal when time reset, didn't he?"

"Yes," Atem nodded.

"But I bet I was pretty mad at Yami Bakura," Joey said.

Bakura sighed. "It does seem extreme, but under the circumstances it probably made sense. And he was acting with Tristan's permission."

Joey frowned, looking to Yami Bakura. "You haven't said a word. What do you think about all this?"

Yami Bakura looked up. "What should I be thinking about it?"

Taken aback, Joey rocked backwards for a moment and then snapped, "You should be thinking it was awful or something!"

"And just echoing what everyone else has already said?" Yami Bakura flatly responded.

Joey blinked. "Well . . ."

"Yes, it was a treacherous situation, and no doubt that demon was laughing about all of it." Yami Bakura folded his arms. "But apparently I felt I was doing the only thing I could once it got to the point that Tristan lost control and was attacking the rest of you. If the exact same thing happened again, I would likely do the same thing again."

Only Bakura noticed that he was gripping his arms tighter than necessary.

"Even if Yami would do it because he had to, it doesn't mean it would be easy for him," he said. "Especially now; I know he and you are friends, Tristan."

Tristan sighed. "Yeah. . . ."

"Although it would still be easier for me to do it than it would be for Yugi or the others," Yami Bakura said.

"Maybe so," Bakura said softly, "or maybe you would only think it would be because you've been without friends for so long, Yami. In some respects, it might be just as hard . . . or harder."

Yami Bakura grunted.

"Well, so what happened next?" Joey asked when it became obvious Yami Bakura didn't want to volunteer more to the conversation.

Atem began again.

_True Night_

Yami Bakura was straddling Tristan when time reset. Tristan was sprawled on the floor, his armor healed, staring up at his former enemy with hazel eyes.

"You did it," Tristan rasped. He sat up, shaking. "You stopped it and saved me."

Yami Bakura backed off of Tristan's legs. "That's the first time anyone has been grateful to me for trying to kill them."

"Not funny," Joey growled.

Tristan shook his head and looked away. "I . . . I couldn't stop it." He spoke to the floor, though he was addressing everyone. "It just took hold of me and there was nothing I could do. At first I was aware enough of it to fight it, but then somehow it . . . it was like I had no will of my own anymore. No . . . it was like I really was a vampire. Suddenly nothing mattered except drawing blood."

Yami Bakura gave a weary nod. "Being taken over by an evil force is like that. It eclipses all sense of self. You don't even realize what's happened to you or that you're no longer normal."

Tristan looked up at him, utterly sickened. "That's how it was for you," he realized. "You said that, and Bakura said that, but I didn't really believe it."

"Sometimes things can only be believed by personally experiencing them," Yami Bakura said.

"And you were really like that for three thousand years?" Tristan exclaimed.

A nod. "I always had moments where I remembered who I really was, but over time I somehow started believing I was both entities, or that I was mostly Zorc. It was very confusing and strange, but I was too far gone to really process how illogical it was. Then I was free of Zorc at long last, but no less confused for a while."

Tristan shook his head. "To be like that for three thousand years. . . . If I'd been like that in my situation, wanting to draw blood all that time and thinking I was only a vampire . . . I just can't picture it. I don't think I could have stuck it out that long. I think during one of my moments of clarity, I would have tried to stake myself."

Understanding flickered in Yami Bakura's eyes. "There were occasional times when I was aware of myself enough that I stopped and wondered what had become of me. But Zorc squelched that before long and even blocked my memories of those moments. He didn't want me to be free; I had been such a good pawn for him."

"What a rotten existence," Tristan breathed.

"It was," Yami Bakura agreed, "only I didn't really know it until I was free. Then I couldn't believe some of what I had done, first in the name of my revenge and then because of Zorc's poison. I hurt so many innocent people in ancient Egypt, and all of you in the present day."

Tristan didn't want to meet his gaze. "And now, me too. I bit Joey and tried to bite Yugi. . . . How can any of you forgive me?!"

"Hey, it's not like you were in your normal mind," Joey chimed in. "We just established that you weren't!"

"That's right," Téa nodded in agreement. "You'd never try to turn us into blood-sucking vampires in your right mind!"

"Bakura, thankfully, won't remember any of what happened," Yami Bakura said. "As for myself, not that you would ever want forgiveness from me, but as far as I'm concerned, you don't need it. You couldn't help what you were doing." He stood.

Joey looked to him with a suspicious frown. "Was it hard for you? You know, to go at Tristan like that?"

Yami Bakura didn't face him. "I did what I had to do. Make of that what you will."

Joey's lip curled. "Yeah, I'll bet you would've cut down any one of us."

"If I had to." Yami Bakura's voice had tightened.

"Even Bakura?"

He froze. If Bakura had been infected . . . if he had come at Yami Bakura with red eyes and deadly fangs . . . even knowing that time would reset and Bakura would be alright again . . . could he have driven a stake through that boy's innocent heart?

He had stabbed himself in the arm during Battle City, because it had been what he had to do.

But he had been infected by Zorc at the time. And he had never intended for Bakura to feel the pain of the wound. He had always planned to stay in control. To deliberately harm Bakura in his right mind, knowing Bakura would feel pain . . . he honestly wasn't sure he could do it.

"Just be glad you didn't have to stake Tristan," he said now, his tone cool and clipped. "Be glad I was around to do it. What is it they say? Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." He stormed over to the couch to watch over Bakura and wait for him to wake up.

Tristan looked away. "I never would've thought I'd see it, but when he pinned me down I saw the look in his eyes. He was only doing it because there wasn't any other choice. He wouldn't have wanted to do it otherwise."

Joey snorted. "Well, forgive me for not feeling great towards the guy who deliberately killed my oldest friend."

"I did tell him to do it, Joey," Tristan said. "That round was lost as soon as I was infected. We had to have time reset! And I didn't want it to happen after I turned everybody else into vampires!" He looked away. "Maybe it was selfish."

"It wasn't selfish," Téa spoke up. "Tristan, you were willing to die to protect all of us!"

"Yeah, but also because I couldn't bear to think of attacking you," Tristan said. "So I made all of you watch me get staked instead."

Joey blew out his breath. "At least you didn't make any of us do it. You knew we couldn't take it. But you knew that guy could."

Yugi sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Guys, please don't fight," he begged. He felt like a broken record, saying that again. And he was afraid he would be saying it many more times before they were free. "Joey, you were just starting to feel better towards Yami Bakura."

"Yeah, but that was before he went at Tristan with a table leg," Joey bitterly retorted. "How am I supposed to feel now? ‘Hey, Pal, thanks a million for driving a stake through my buddy's heart'?"

"If I had acted sooner, he wouldn't have bit you," Yami Bakura growled at last. "And when I did act, he was trying to bite Yugi. But you didn't care, did you? You would have let him turn us all into vampires!"

"Hey, that is not true!" Joey snapped. "I just wanted to give Tristan more of a chance to break free!"

"And if he hadn't?" Yami Bakura returned. "Would you have driven the stake into his heart?"

Joey looked away. ". . . I don't know."

Yugi sighed. "Well . . . even though I feel awful about what had to be done, I'm grateful I didn't get turned too." He looked to Yami Bakura. "Thanks . . . for trying to protect me. And for bringing about the time reset, so Tristan would be safe."

Yami Bakura gave a cool nod.

Bakura stirred, flinching as his eyes snapped open. "Tristan! Are you alright?!" he cried.

Everyone jumped.

"Uh . . . yeah." Tristan approached the couch slowly. "Why wouldn't I be alright?"

Bakura sat up, blinking in bewilderment. "You know, I'm not sure," he realized. "Why on Earth did I say that?"

Yami Bakura growled. The more time reset, the more Bakura seemed to retain memories of past resets. He doubted that was a good thing.

"Nevermind that," Tristan said. "We need to figure out how to get out of here. We're all trapped in this castle."

"Oh my." Bakura blinked at him. "So, what do we do?"

"Right now, we need to go up to the second floor and blow up a bunch of Vampire Lords," Joey said.

"Or look for a back way upstairs," Tristan said.

"We'd probably still have to face the Vampire Lords anyway," Yami Bakura pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I'd still feel better if we at least try to find an alternate route," Tristan shot back. "Maybe through the kitchen, like I suggested in the first place."

"I'm sure the kitchen is heavily booby-trapped," Yami Bakura insisted.

"Well, let's try it anyway," Tristan insisted. "We'll be careful. You know where that statue is, so you can keep us away from it."

"Works for me," Joey said. "Although I'd really like to show those Vampire Lords what for."

"Beating them might be the only way we'll advance," Yugi worried. "But I'm up for trying to avoid them too."

"Me too," Téa nodded. "So let's go!"

Bakura rubbed the back of his neck. "Why do I have the feeling I'm missing something here?" he ruefully asked.

"It's probably deja vu or somethin'," Joey said. "No big deal; we all get that sometimes."

They started down the path that led to the kitchen. When they drew nigh, Yami Bakura steered Bakura away from the stone in the floor that triggered the Amazon Archer statue. Everyone else followed suit.

"Obviously you've been down this path before, Yami," Bakura said. "Why don't I remember it? Was I sleeping?"

Yami Bakura grunted. "That's the only thing that makes sense, isn't it?"

Bakura blinked. "Well . . . yes, I suppose. . . ."

Joey cautiously opened the door to the kitchen, while everyone else stood to the side. When nothing came flying out at them, he slowly went into the room. "Hey, look! There is a back stairway here!" he announced.

The others went over. "Something will probably go wrong when we try to go up," Yami Bakura growled.

"Well, if we've gotta get up there in order to get out of here, I say we should do it!" Joey declared.

No one could disagree with that, and they all slowly trouped up the mysterious staircase.

They were near the top when a Crass Clown rode out on its beach ball with an evil cackle and swung its baton at Yami Bakura. The thief snarled and dove out of the way, pulling Bakura with him.

It was Yugi who tried to jump to Yami Bakura's defense. "Leave him alone!" he yelled, lunging forward with Sacred Lightning sparking from his fingertips.

The Crass Clown had apparently been waiting for just such an event. It lunged too, catching Yugi across the chest with the baton. Yugi immediately grabbed the creature's hands, pulling it towards him. Then they were both falling, tumbling over the banister railing to the hard floor below. Yugi hit first and a horrific crack echoed through the space.

"Yugi!" Téa screamed.

As the darkness covered them again, this time it was Joey giving Yami Bakura a hateful look. Only Bakura saw Yami Bakura's strange expression as he stared towards the banister.

****

Joey was still furious when time reset.

"You creep!" he shouted. "First you stake Tristan and now Yugi gets killed trying to protect you! And you don't even care, do you?!"

Yugi rubbed at his neck with a wince. "Joey . . ."

Yami Bakura turned away, his eyes shaded by his bangs. "No matter what I could say, it wouldn't make a difference, would it?"

"It might," Joey retorted.

"If I said I cared, that I didn't want Tristan or Yugi to suffer now that I am left to myself without Zorc, you would believe me?"

Joey glowered. "Is it true?"

"I have said before that it's true," Yami Bakura retorted. "You don't believe me. Not that you have any reason to, but why ask if you don't really want to hear the answer?"

"Bakura would say we do have reason to," Yugi quietly interjected.

Joey growled, ignoring Yugi. "You punk! I've got more attack points than you. I should come over there and see what you'll say after I crack your jaw and maybe knock out a few of your teeth to boot!"

"Oh?" Yami Bakura finally looked up, and he was angry. "I could have threatened you in countless ways after your and Tristan's interference caused Bakura to run outside, right into that demon's path. I have tried to be a team player. I tried to help Tristan when he was stabbed! I only impaled him on this other round because there was no other choice in order to protect everyone else! And it wasn't my fault that Yugi fell off the staircase!"

"Oh yeah?!" Joey lunged, punching Yami Bakura across the jaw. He fell backwards on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Joey, I'm okay!" Yugi exclaimed. "Please, stop!"

"Several cracks are closing up all at once!" Téa cried.

"Oh yeah? Well, are we sure we want the whole place covered in cracks?!" Joey shot back. "It might all come down on our heads!"

"On the other hand, the place crumbling down around us might be the only way we'll get out of here!" Tristan retorted. "Joey, come on, man! Let it go!"

"It's not like you haven't hated the guy too," Joey retorted. "What, don't tell me you're feeling completely different about him now!"

"I don't know how I'm feeling about him now!" Tristan countered. "But I'm realizing that he really is different now. And I know what it's like to have your whole sense of self eclipsed by some evil force. You already know what that's like!"

Joey flinched. "Yeah," he admitted. "I do."

"So everything isn't cut and dry." Tristan stared at the floor. "I wish I'd realized it sooner."

Joey looked away and punched the wall, swearing under his breath.

Bakura sat up like a shot. "What on Earth is going on?!" He looked to where Yami Bakura was sprawled on his side on the table, feeling across his jaw. "Yami?!"

Yami Bakura finally looked up. "Well, I don't think you cracked it," he said to Joey. "Care for another round? I'll be ready for you next time."

"For Heaven's sake, why are you fighting?!" Bakura exclaimed.

Joey gnashed his teeth. "I'm not even sure anymore," he said in disgust. He turned away, digging his hands into his hair. "I guess this place is just really starting to get to me."

"What place? What's going on?!" Bakura was still bewildered and distressed.

"We're trapped," Yami Bakura explained. "We're trying to find the way out, but every possibility fails."

"Oh. . . ." Bakura bit his lip. "I suppose that would be enough to set everyone's nerves on edge. . . ."

"It sure is," Joey said.

"But still, punching Yami?!" Bakura looked to Joey. "Were you just looking for an excuse to do that?!"

"No," Joey retorted. "Look, Bakura. You don't know what happened, so you can't really criticize."

"I'm trying to find out what happened!" Bakura countered. "And you should know I wouldn't be happy about Yami being hurt!"

"Yeah, yeah, of course you wouldn't," Joey scowled.

"Well," Yugi said, desperately trying to steer the conversation to something else, "how should we try getting upstairs this time, guys?"

"I'd rather deal with that freaky clown than a horde of vampires," Téa said with a shudder.

"I've got scores to settle with all of them now," Joey snarled.

"Let's just go up either way," Tristan said.

"Let's try the clown," Yami Bakura growled.

"I'm so confused," Bakura sighed.

Eventually they opted for the back staircase and the Crass Clown. The creature wasn't in sight as they made their way to the top, but Joey wasn't sure he could relax.

"Where is the thing?!" he exclaimed, looking from side to side.

"Maybe it's hiding," Tristan suggested.

"Maybe it won't come out," Téa hoped.

The eerie cackle immediately let everyone know it was a vain hope. The clown rode out . . . only now it was different.

"Oh no!" Joey yelped. "It's a Clown Zombie! What the heck?!"

"Why didn't it go back to the way it was?!" Téa shrieked.

Yami Bakura snarled. This didn't make sense to him, either. Crass Clown's zombie form could only be unlocked under certain conditions, such as if The Call of the Haunted was in play. "Maybe, if a card character has a zombie form, in this world it's brought back in that form if it's killed," he suggested.

"And without any Shield and Sword cards, we're toast!" Joey wailed.

Clown Zombie cackled again and threw its deadly knives at the group.

"Look out!" Yugi yelped.

Those with blasting power blasted the knives away. The rest dove aside.

"Now what?!" Joey wailed.

"There must be Shield and Sword cards here somewhere," Bakura said. He got up from where Yami Bakura had pushed him to the floor. "Let's look!"

"Okay," Joey said. "We can look, but we'll also have to be on guard for the next attack!" He quaked. He would never not hate zombies and ghosts and anything creepy.

In desperation everyone spread out to search, keeping watch on the Clown Zombie all the while. It cackled, rolling back and forth on its ball and twirling its baton.

"What the heck is it doing?!" Joey burst out.

"It's probably trying to catch us off-guard and get your goat," Tristan said.

It was only when Joey was about to check inside a potted plant that the Clown Zombie struck again, aiming another set of knives right at him.

"Joey, look out!" Yugi screamed.

Yami Bakura was closer and he came forward, blasting the knives away. The Clown Zombie retaliated instantly, throwing one final knife while he was occupied with the rest.

"Yami!" Bakura wailed.

Yami Bakura saw it coming, but he could do nothing about it. It hit, and the pain suddenly flamed into his heart and throughout his chest. Shaking, he brought his hands around the handle of the weapon that was now buried in his body. Blood dripped over his hands and dizziness and oblivion engulfed him. He fell backwards to the floor.

Joey turned with a start. "H-Hey!" He dropped to his knees next to the old thief. "Come on, you're not dying on me! Not like this!" But he could see that it was too late. His shoulders slumped and his head dropped as he laid his hand over Yami Bakura's, still clasped around the knife. "No. . . ."

Bakura fell to his knees as well, heartbrokenly sobbing.

Around them, Yugi, Téa, and Tristan also stared, shaken.


	8. Chapter 8

_True Night_

Joey was still bending over Yami Bakura when time reset. Even when he saw the man slowly open his eyes and look up at him in wonder, he didn't move. Instead, he sharply exhaled. "You got killed for me," he rasped.

"Yes," Yami Bakura replied. He sat up, looking to Bakura on the couch.

Joey swallowed hard. "I . . . I feel awful about it."

"Well, don't," Yami Bakura grunted. "We all have to look out for each other if we want to get out of this mess."

"I know, but . . . after what I said. . . ." Joey ran a hand through his hair and looked away.

"I didn't expect anything different."

"Maybe not, but you should have," Joey retorted. He heaved a sigh. "Oh man, what a mess, the way me and Tristan treated you. . . ."

"Don't worry about it," Yami Bakura told him. "As I said to Tristan, my feelings don't matter."

"Of course they matter!" Joey burst out. "We used to think you didn't even have feelings, but you've shown that isn't true! I think . . . I think you feel a lot. And probably a lot deeper than we ever thought possible."

"Awfully philosophical of you," Yami Bakura commented.

"Yeah, I guess you wouldn't want to admit to it," Joey said. He hesitated. "But . . . I've still gotta wonder . . . and I'm sincerely asking here, not trying to start something. . . . Did you feel bad at all for Yugi to sacrifice himself for you? I mean, when Yugi was your big enemy in the past and all."

"I did." Yami Bakura pulled himself up and sat on the edge of the couch. "And technically, Yugi wasn't my enemy; the Pharaoh was. Yugi and the rest of you were my enemies merely by association. It was nothing personal, although I did grow exasperated with your naivete and your insistence on interfering."

"Hey, when something affects our friend, it affects us all," Joey said. "And that's the same principle here."

"Am I your friend?" Yami Bakura looked up at him.

Joey got up now. "You're sure a comrade, an ally. I know we've gotta all work together and all, and you really are trying." He sighed. "I still don't feel good about what you did to Tristan, but I guess it's true that he told you to do it to protect the rest of us."

Yami Bakura nodded. "If he hadn't told me, I likely would have done it anyway, when it seemed there was no hope."

"I still think other ways should've been tried first," Joey said. "But . . . you really weren't trying to be a creep."

"No, I wasn't." Yami Bakura kept looking at Bakura.

Joey sighed, seeing that he wasn't much in a talking mood. "Well . . . I'm sorry, okay?"

A weary shrug. "You have plenty of reason to be upset."

"I forgave Marik. Noa too. I should be able to forgive you, and trust you." Joey shoved his hands through his belt. "Bakura had a lot of reason to be upset that Tristan and I hadn't."

"Perhaps," Yami Bakura said.

A loud silence reigned.

"There's more cracks in the wall," Téa quietly volunteered.

No one knew what to say to that.

Yugi sighed. "How are we ever going to get past that Clown Zombie? It's probably still up there."

"Maybe the Shield and Sword card is down here, and we'll have to find it before going up," Tristan suggested.

"Works for me," Joey said. "Only it was when I tried to look in that plant that the thing flipped out on me. Maybe it knew the card was in there!"

"That's right!" Yugi remembered. "Okay, we should look there first!"

Bakura stirred now. "Yami?" He opened his eyes, and there were still tears in them. "Yami, you're hurt!" He sat up with a jerk.

"I'm not hurt," Yami Bakura gruffly insisted.

"It was right there. . . ." Bakura laid his hand over Yami Bakura's heart, shuddering with the memories.

Yugi and Téa exchanged a worried look. Bakura was reviving with more memories each time. Why? 

Yami Bakura looked taken aback as well. But then, rising to the occasion, he said, "You were having a bad dream."

Bakura bit his lip. "It didn't feel like a dream. It felt real."

"How could it have been real?" Yami Bakura retorted. "You can see I'm not wounded. If I had been hit ‘right here,' I'd be dead!"

"I suppose." Bakura still didn't seem convinced.

Yami Bakura growled. "Look." He undid his robes and pulled them open, revealing the Infinity Ring and his bare chest.

Bakura finally nodded. "Alright, Yami." He smiled. "You're right, there's no wound."

"Of course I'm right." Yami Bakura closed his robes again.

Bakura looked around. "So, what's the deal with everyone dressed up like Duel Monsters?"

"We're trapped in this freaky castle and we've gotta find the way out to get home," Joey said.

"Oh my. Well, we'd better get started then." Bakura moved around Yami Bakura to get off the couch.

"Yes," Yami Bakura agreed with a grunt. "We'd better."

The group headed for the back staircase a third time. As they walked, Bakura struck up a conversation with Téa and Yami Bakura fell back to talk to Yugi.

"Oh . . . hi," Yugi greeted, somewhat awkwardly.

Yami Bakura didn't acknowledge that. "Why did you do what you did?" he asked instead.

". . . You mean trying to save you?" Yugi looked up at him. "I would have done the same thing for any of the others."

"I know," Yami Bakura grunted, "and I'm sure it had very little to do with the rule of us all getting out alive." He averted his gaze. "I never met anyone like you and your friends before. When I first did, I didn't know what to make of it. It seemed so preposterous and foolish to risk your life for anyone else, friend or enemy alike."

"And what do you think now?" Yugi asked. "You protected Joey on the last round."

"I did, didn't I." Yami Bakura stared off into the distance. "I wasn't planning on taking that knife for him. I thought I could destroy them and I would be alright."

Yugi nodded. "I thought the same thing when I attacked the Crass Clown. I wasn't planning on falling off the stairs."

"You must have realized it was a possibility," Yami Bakura said.

"Yeah," Yugi agreed. "And I'm sure you considered the same thing about yourself."

"I suppose," Yami Bakura said noncommittally. "Only I've always been an arrogant old fool and tend to believe I can get myself out of anything."

"Well . . ." Yugi smiled a bit. "At least you recognize that about yourself."

"Recognizing doesn't help much when I can't get myself out of something," Yami Bakura growled.

"So," Yugi said, "why did you try to save Joey? I mean, considering your attitudes and your past, risking your life probably isn't something you do for anyone other than Bakura very often. . . ."

"I don't know," Yami Bakura growled. "I was the nearest one to him at the time. It seemed the logical thing to do, what with that stipulation of all of us getting out alive in order for Bakura to be saved. . . . And I saw no point in Joey being hurt regardless. . . ."

Yugi smiled. "Bakura would say that you would help even without the stipulations Yami Marik set up. I still think you would too. I just wanted to hear how you would explain it. I didn't trust you in the past, but I trust you now. I'm proud for you to be in the group, even though I wish we weren't all trapped here."

Yami Bakura wasn't sure what to say. "I don't think anyone has ever welcomed me into a group before," he said. "I didn't even think I wanted it. It seemed like foolishness, and of course, I knew that camaraderie doesn't last. People either betray you or die and you're left alone again."

"We won't betray you," Yugi said quietly. "And we'll stick around as long as we possibly can."

"I know," Yami Bakura said. "But it's so odd that my former enemies have become my allies."

"It does feel pretty strange," Yugi chuckled. "But I'm happy about it."

"Yes," Yami Bakura mused. "It . . . actually is a nice feeling."

Bakura, meanwhile, was distressed. "I know you're always very honest, Téa," he said as they walked down the hall and avoided the traps. "And I know that something is being kept from me. Won't you please tell me what it is and why I'm not supposed to know?"

Téa stiffened, alarmed at being put on the spot with such a question. "Um, well . . ." In desperation she wracked her mind for a suitable answer. "If there really was something you weren't supposed to know, there'd probably be a good reason for it, don't you think?"

Bakura frowned. "I couldn't know that unless I knew what it was or why I couldn't know."

"Even if all your friends figured you couldn't know for your own safety?" Téa tried again. "I mean . . . you trust your friends, don't you, Bakura? And Yami Bakura? You trust him, right?"

"Yes," Bakura said slowly. "But why on Earth . . . what could possibly be necessary about keeping me so out of the loop? It's not that everyone thinks I'm a porcelain doll, is it?"

Téa winced. "You don't really believe that, I hope. . . ."

". . . I suppose not," Bakura sighed. "I can't believe all of you would think that."

"Then please, trust us," Téa pleaded. "Someday we'll be able to tell you everything. Just . . . not right now."

". . . Alright," Bakura consented. "Someday."

Téa smiled. "Thanks, Bakura. You've always been a good friend, better than we even realized sometimes. I just hope . . . somehow . . . we can make up for the past."

Bakura looked at her in surprise. "Téa . . ."

Joey suddenly interrupted. "Here's the kitchen. Watch out for flying knives or whatever else might get thrown at us."

Yami Bakura raised an eyebrow. "You're acknowledging something might go wrong in the kitchen this time?"

"Hey, who knows." Joey narrowed his eyes. "I could just picture that creep leading us into a false sense of security, getting us to figure that everything's hunky-dory here because nothing went wrong before, and then suddenly springing something on us in the kitchen this time."

"Be careful," Yami Bakura growled. Joey was getting dangerously close to revealing the time resets.

Bakura frowned. "You were here before?"

"While you were sleeping," Yami Bakura said.

"Oh," said Bakura, but from the way he said it, it was clear he didn't entirely believe it.

To their relief, the kitchen was once again safe. They reached the staircase and climbed up without incident. Joey immediately made a beeline for the potted plant. "Oh yeah! Shield and Sword! That's what I'm talkin' about, baby!" He pulled the card out just as Clown Zombie appeared. The monster gave a look of alarmed horror just before Joey cut it down.

Bakura breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I'm glad that went as well as it did."

"Yeah, but what else is in store now?" Tristan worried.

"Let's not think about that," Bakura exclaimed.

"We have to think about it," Yami Bakura retorted. "We need to have some level of preparedness for the next disaster. How will we if we're not even considering what could go wrong?"

"Well, I suppose that makes sense," Bakura said slowly. "It's just that I . . . don't want to have to keep dwelling on sadness. . . ."

That seemed an odd thing to say too. Subconsciously, the boy definitely remembered the sorrows they had all been experiencing.

"Just because there will be more trouble doesn't mean we won't come through it," Yami Bakura retorted.

"I know," Bakura said, but he didn't sound hopeful. Still, he smiled a bit. "I never thought I'd hear you say something like that, Yami."

"I never thought I would either," Yami Bakura muttered.

Yugi chuckled. "Well, it's true," he said. "There's always a chance for hope. Let's walk around and see what we can come up with."

The group agreed.

The second floor was mostly eerily quiet, especially in light of the vampires likely waiting at the other end. Several doors were opened and rooms were explored, with more than a few close calls.

"Oh man," Joey gasped as they fled from one bedroom just as the walls fell in. "I'm not sure we should look in any more of these!"

"But don't we have to clear everything to beat this place?" Téa sighed.

"I'm afraid that seems likely," Bakura said.

"And here's more bad news," Tristan announced. "The vampires are back!"

"Oh no," Téa moaned.

Indeed, the herd of Vampire Lords was converging on them now. All were sneering and baring their fangs, clearly anxious to feed.

"Alright." Tristan glowered at them. "I am not going to become a vampire snack again. I'm going to teach these things a thing or two about why they never should have tried that on me!"

"Me too!" Joey declared.

Téa looked worried as they charged in. "Is this really a good idea?" she exclaimed.

"Maybe they and Yami Bakura can take out what they can and then you can use Shield and Sword on the rest, Téa," Yugi suggested. "The Vampire Lords' attack and your attack is about the same, but your defense is higher than theirs."

"Oh yeah." Téa watched as Joey and Tristan roared their way through their enemies and Yami Bakura blasted at others. "On the other hand, maybe there won't be any left for me."

Yugi sighed. "I wish we could find some Equip cards. I can't even help out in this fight."

"Well, you helped . . . err, before," Téa stammered, catching herself before saying something disturbing in front of Bakura.

"When was that?" Bakura frowned. "In fact, when were all these other adventures you've been talking about? Why don't I remember any of them?"

Yugi and Téa froze.

"It's like Yami Bakura said, Bakura—some of us explored while you were asleep," Yugi said at last.

"I suppose that makes sense," Bakura frowned. "But then there's how I was so sure Yami had been hurt. Why did I think that? I know Yami said it was a dream, but it didn't feel like one."

"Well . . . why would he lie?" Téa stammered.

"So I wouldn't worry," Bakura immediately answered. "Only I know it's true that if he had really been wounded in the heart, he'd be dead." His eyes filled with worry. "Oh, what's going on?! Why don't I remember and why won't anyone be straight with me?! Why should I have to be content with being told I'm being kept in the dark for my own good?!"

Yugi and Téa were saved from trying to reply as Joey destroyed the last Vampire Lord. "Yes! Who's the man?!" He pumped the air with a fist.

"We are!" Tristan cheered. "And you know what this means?"

"Victory dance!" they shouted together.

Yami Bakura didn't join in their bizarre can-can. He stepped aside and walked back to the others. "It looks like there's a staircase going up to a third floor over there," he announced.

"Then we should check it out," Téa said. "It doesn't look like there's much more to this level."

"There might be more than meets the eye," Yugi said, "but yeah, we should check out the next floor up. It seems like we should be finding ways to get up into the towers soon. I remember this castle has a lot of them."

Bakura sighed. "Well, I hope there won't be any more dangers up there. It's always worrisome seeing what we're getting into. And I can't even help!"

"You're safe," Yami Bakura said gruffly. "That's more help than you know."

Finally finished with their song, Joey and Tristan came over to the others. "So, are we ready to see what's in store for us next?!" Joey chirped.

"Let's go," Téa said. "But we have to be careful."

"Of course," Joey said breezily. "Aren't we always?"

The stairs to the third floor, amazingly, didn't have any booby traps—but that only made the group all the more suspicious. Worry filled their eyes as they stepped off the landing onto a mysterious level decked out in red carpeting and more Dark Ruler decor.

"Well, it looks pretty harmless so far," Joey said.

An overpowered Scarlet Scourge leaped in front of them in the next moment.

"You were saying?" Téa said flatly.

"What the heck?!" Joey yelped. "That thing's got 3200 attack points!"

"Obviously it received some power-ups from somewhere," Yami Bakura snapped. "But now it's more powerful than any of us!"

"Oh no. . . ." Téa gripped her staff. "I am not letting all of you guys die again! I'm not going to stand here and just watch it happen!"

"What can you do about it, Téa?" Joey frowned.

"This guy's ready to rumble!" Tristan added with a yelp.

The Scarlet Scourge lunged, sword extended.

Yami Bakura snarled, pulling Bakura close to him and turning away to shield the boy from the blow.

Téa leaped in the air. "Leave my friends alone!" She glowed with a powerful light, enough to send the Scarlet Scourge stumbling back in shocked surprise. Everyone else looked up with a stunned start.

"Téa?" Yugi gasped. "What . . ."

A magical barrier came down around them, protecting them from the vampire. Téa, however, was not in it with them. As the Scarlet Scourge snarled and lunged again, she dove right at it, holding her staff in front of her. Apparently she was hoping for another surprise burst of power. In this she was disappointed; she and the Scourge collided and the sword ran her through.

"Téa!" Yugi screamed.

Téa fell, crashing to the floor in front of the barrier. ". . . I'm . . . sorry, guys," she said softly. "Sorry. . . ."

Her eyes closed.

_True Reality_

"Oh man." Joey frowned. "We just can't win for long in there, can we?"

Atem sighed. "No, not with Yami Marik at the helm."

Yugi looked away, shuddering. "I think I remember that. Kind of. I remember how awful it was to see Téa fall. . . ." He blinked back tears.

"Hey." Téa moved closer to him. "I'm okay now, Yugi. . . . We're all okay. . . ."

Bakura shook his head. "All of that, for me. . . ."

Joey looked to him. "Maybe we didn't always show it in the best way, but we really did care about you, Bakura. Still do."

Bakura managed a weak smile. "I know."

"There is something good that started happening during all of these resets and all of this suffering," Atem said. "Do you see what it is?"

Joey frowned. "It seems like gradually, we started acting more like a team that understood each other. We were all risking our lives for each other, even Yami Bakura. He tried to help us, and . . . we tried to help him. . . ."

"Yes, that's right," Atem nodded.

"And I really started understanding what it was like to lose my mind," Tristan said, looking haunted. "Only I forgot all that and started treating Yami Bakura like garbage again. What the heck happened?! Why did we forget?!"

"Well . . ." Atem sighed again. "That part of the story is still coming."


	9. Chapter 9

_True Night_

Yugi was in tears when time reset.

"This is awful!" he cried, on his hands and knees near the rug. "We can't keep going through this! We just can't!"

Téa, who was sprawled on the floor, clutched her stomach as she slowly sat up. "Yugi . . ." She reached for him. "I'm okay. . . ."

"I know everyone's okay when time resets," Yugi said. "At least physically. But the emotional wounds don't go away that easily!" He pushed himself up and looked to her. "Bakura is allowed to forget, but we aren't. I remember every single death. The only way I can deal with it at all is knowing that it's a Shadow Game death and not permanent, but even knowing that, it's getting harder and harder to cope with this."

Téa blinked back tears of her own as she nodded. "I know. I couldn't take it anymore either. That was why I felt like I just had to step in."

"Now there's another superpowered monster we have to defeat!" Yugi exclaimed. "We'll have to find some power-ups for ourselves before we go on and try again. There's no other way!"

"There sure isn't," Téa moaned. "If we could find some Equip spells and give them to you, Yugi, you'd probably be more powerful than any of us because of Maha Vailo's special ability!"

"And I'm going to find them!" Yugi vowed. He got to his feet and stormed to the other side of the great hall. "Maybe there's even something in here. We didn't really explore it."

"Maybe because it always seems like you don't find power-ups right away," Téa said slowly. "We thought they'd be down the other paths. That, plus we didn't even start encountering Duel Monsters until we got farther along in here."

"Well, I'm going to look everywhere!" Yugi insisted. He rarely became this upset, but when he did, there was no reasoning with him. Anyway, it was definitely a good idea.

"Sounds good to me, Pal!" Joey declared. "Count me in!"

"Me too!" Tristan nodded.

Yami Bakura watched as they spread out to other parts of the great hall, poking and prodding at every wall and each stick of furniture. For his part, he just sat down on the couch and watched Bakura.

Téa had been about to join with the others in their search, but she paused at this. "You're not going to help look?" she asked.

"Not until Bakura wakes up," Yami Bakura replied. "Someone should stay with him. If he's left alone, who knows what might happen."

"That's a good point," Téa sighed. She hesitated. "You've really been trying to help all of us through this mess. . . ."

"Bakura said I was trustworthy," Yami Bakura offered with a shrug. "Although I recognize that's difficult to accept."

"Bakura also said that isn't fair," Téa said quietly. "It really isn't."

Another shrug. "So . . . why are you talking to me instead of to him?" Yami Bakura nodded in Yugi's general direction.

"I won't be able to get through to Yugi until he calms down," Téa said, "although I'd sure try if he was doing something dangerous. Anyway . . . I've wanted to talk to you too."

"Oh really," Yami Bakura grunted. "Well, in that case, tell me. . . . What did make me different from Marik or Noa or those bikers or Dartz?"

Téa blinked. "Different?"

"Make no mistake, I don't think I deserve forgiveness or trust," Yami Bakura said, "but I don't know that they do either. Yet apparently you all felt that they did and I didn't."

Téa bit her lip. "I don't think I should speak for everyone. . . ." She shifted. "Me and Yugi, well . . . we're pretty willing to forgive. Trusting is harder."

"Even Yugi didn't seem to trust me for quite some time," Yami Bakura said. He sighed and looked tired. "Although I suppose part of that was my own fault because I wasn't very sociable at first. Not that I've ever been very sociable. But I . . . didn't know how to handle being around people I'd hurt so deeply. I couldn't even say for certain at that time that I was sorry for what I had done. It was . . . confusing, finally being left to myself again after three thousand years. I didn't know anymore who I really was."

"That's understandable," Téa told him. She sat down on the coffee table. "I know I can't really know how you must have felt, but I think I'd be more than a little confused if I was fused with another spirit for three thousand years and then finally set free. Being alone would probably feel . . . so alien. . . ."

"Yes, it did," Yami Bakura said in some surprise. "Sometimes it still does. And I still don't really know who I am, for that matter," he dryly added.

"I think I'm starting to," Téa said softly. "You're loyal and protective. You love Bakura so much. Even when we all ran up to him laying on the sidewalk, we were all kind of in shock at first. But when you came, you just immediately went to work trying to revive him. You're probably more furious at Yami Marik than any of the rest of us, but you held back from attacking him because nothing was more important than taking care of Bakura."

"Yes, that is correct." His voice lowered. "And for the record . . . I have been sorry for what I did in the past."

"I know," Téa said quietly.

He raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"You wouldn't think you're such a horrible person if you weren't sorry," Téa told him. "Yugi feels the same way. And I know Joey and Tristan are starting to come around."

Yami Bakura slowly nodded. It was nice . . . to know that.

"I guess honestly, I think that if we'd met under different circumstances, you would have been our friend from the start," Téa said.

Yami Bakura looked to her, unable to hide his surprise.

Téa just smiled. "But you're our friend now, and that means a lot."

Now he was further stunned. "I'm sure you're the only one who thinks of me that way."

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that," Téa smiled.

Yami Bakura didn't know what to say to that, so instead he just watched as Bakura rolled onto his side. He seemed peaceful at the moment; he was even smiling a bit. Yami Bakura hated for him to be pulled back into a world of sorrow and misery when he awoke.

"Foolish boy; what have you to smile about?" he muttered.

"He knows he's with his loved ones," Téa said softly. "That's more than enough to smile about."

Well, it was certainly a goody-goody thing to say, but . . . he couldn't honestly say it wasn't true. He grunted.

"You were protective of Bakura all along, really, but in the past we thought it was just because you needed his body," Téa said.

"I myself thought that," Yami Bakura said. "I made myself believe it. I couldn't afford to love. I didn't really remember anymore what love was or what it felt like."

"And now you do," Téa smiled.

"And I'm willing to go through this Hell to keep him alive," Yami Bakura growled. "So are all of you. I just hope you can see it through to the end. I don't know if it will work if anyone refuses to play any longer."

"I don't think any of us are giving up," Téa said. "We all love Bakura and want to see him happy and well." She sighed. "I just worry about him getting back more and more memories."

"So do I," Yami Bakura admitted. "It can't be a good thing, but I can't figure out what that demon is trying to lead up to."

"Maybe eventually all the memories will come rushing back all at once and poor Bakura won't be able to stand it," Téa quavered.

Yami Bakura growled. "Don't think that hasn't occurred to me. Him forgetting every round seems like a mercy, but I know that fiend didn't mean it as such."

"Hey!" Joey suddenly exclaimed. "We got a power-up!"

They looked up.

"Great job!" Téa congratulated.

"But can it be used on Yugi?" Yami Bakura pointedly asked.

"Yeah, it can!" Yugi beamed. "It's about time! It's a 500 point boost by itself, and then Maha Vailo's special ability adds another 500!"

"That still isn't enough to take on the Scarlet Scourge," Yami Bakura said.

"If I can find one more, it will be," Yugi vowed.

"So why don't you guys help too?" Joey wondered. "It'd go faster with more."

"We were . . . watching over Bakura," Téa stammered. It was true, at least in Yami Bakura's case, but Téa had been there because she had decided to talk to him. Still, she wasn't sure she wanted to say that.

"Yeah?" Joey blinked. "It takes more than one person to do that?"

Bakura stirred then. "Oh . . . I've been having the most horrible nightmare," he shuddered. He looked around at everyone. "Or . . . was it a nightmare? . . ."

"I don't know. What was your nightmare?" Yami Bakura grunted.

"Everyone was dressed up like this," Bakura said. "But . . . horrible things kept happening. . . ."

"Well . . ." Téa shifted. "We're all okay. . . ."

Yami Bakura nodded. "As you can see."

Bakura wasn't convinced. "I suppose so. . . ." He frowned. "But what I remember seems so real. . . ."

"It wasn't," Yami Bakura insisted.

"But we're looking for power-ups and we could use your help!" Joey called.

Bakura climbed off the couch. "Alright."

There weren't any more power-ups in the room they were in, but when they branched out and searched one of the remaining unexplored paths, they found another.

"Yes!" Joey grinned. "Now Yug has enough juice to take on that superpowered vampire upstairs!"

Bakura jerked. "A what?!"

"It's a Duel Monster," Yami Bakura grunted. "The Scarlet Scourge."

"Oh." Bakura bit his lip. "I don't know what it is, but . . . vampires . . . they give me a really bad feeling now."

Téa laid a hand on Bakura's shoulder. "It'll be okay," she said, and she prayed she was right.

Yugi led the way as they headed up one flight of stairs, then another. The Scarlet Scourge was waiting for them, just as before, but when it jumped lightly into their path, Yugi was ready.

"Alright," he snarled. "You're not going to harm my friends anymore. And you won't hurt me either! Sacred Lightning!"

Maha Vailo's powerful attack charged down from the ceiling and into their foe. Then he was defeated.

"That was awesome, Yugi!" Téa exclaimed.

"Good show!" Bakura added, relief and joy shining in his eyes.

Yugi beamed. "Now that he's gone, let's see what else is on this level and what we can do about getting out of here!"

Everyone was willing to join in the search. But as they walked down the hall, an eerie creaking sound soon met all of their ears.

"What's that?!" Bakura demanded.

Joey saw it first. "Look out, Bakura!" He shoved the boy out of the way, just as a heavy slab from the stone wall fell from its place. He didn't have enough time to save himself too.

"Joey!" Yugi and Bakura screamed at the same time.

Joey screamed too, as the wall forced him to the floor. He clenched his teeth in desperate pain. "Oh man. . . . So this is . . . what it's like . . . to be pinned so tight you . . . can't breathe. . . ."

"No!" Tristan ran over to the wall and pushed on it, refusing to give up. Everyone else soon joined him. But all of their struggles with the wall with in vain.

Bakura crashed to his knees. "This is horrible!" he sobbed. "I didn't see the wall. . . . If I'd seen it, Joey wouldn't have felt he had to jump in and protect me!"

"Hey." Joey shakily reached out a hand to the devastated British boy. "It's okay, Bakura. I know you don't understand it now, but . . . I promise . . . it's gonna be okay. I'll be . . . okay. . . ." His eyes started to flicker shut.

"Come on!" Tristan cried. "Stay with us, man!"

"Nah." Joey slumped down farther into the floor. "It's better this way. . . . Like you thought when you had to be stopped, Tristan. . . . Time'll reset and . . . we'll all be fine. . . ."

Téa blinked back tears nevertheless. "We can't keep going on like this," she choked out.

Yugi grabbed at Joey's hand. "No. . . . We can't."

Yami Bakura drew an arm around Bakura's shoulders as he looked to the scene, badly shaken. "But we can't let all of this be in vain, either."

Joey gave one last, unintelligible grunt. His hand went limp.

Yugi screamed.

_True Reality_

"How awful," Téa breathed. "Poor Joey. . . ."

"Come on!" Joey cried. "We can't have gone through many more resets after that!" He looked to Atem. "Can we?!"

Atem sighed. "You did. So very many more. There were all the towers to investigate."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Joey cried.

Bakura looked down. "I still remember so very little about any of this."

"Then be grateful," Yami Bakura growled.

"Well, I certainly would rather not remember the horrible things," Bakura agreed. "But the nice things . . . the bonding . . . everyone becoming closer. . . . I wish I remembered those things."

"Me too," Téa said softly.

"Give it time," Atem said. "I believe those memories will return."

_True Night_

Everyone was shaken when time reset. Tristan sank into a chair, covering his eyes with his hands. Yugi hurried to Joey, who was sprawled on the floor. Téa was right behind him.

Joey sat up with a growl. "We've just gotta figure out the secret to getting out of here alive!" he exclaimed.

"I know," Téa moaned. "But how are we ever going to do that?!"

"I wish I knew," Yugi said.

"We were drawing a map of everything on one round," Tristan mumbled. "Maybe we should do that again now that we've seen a lot more of the place."

"Makes sense to me," Joey said.

Téa got up and crossed the room to the desk Bakura had used before. Taking out a sheet of paper, she sat down and started to sketch the castle as best as she could figure out.

"I wonder if we should go back to the room with all those paintings and look through it more," Yugi said.

"What?! Why would we wanna see that place again?!" Joey cried.

"Because maybe it leads somewhere," Yugi said, "like to one of the towers."

"It's probably not the way out, though," Tristan mumbled.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to check," Yugi insisted. "There didn't seem to be any traps up there."

"Yeah, because the paintings were torture enough," Tristan retorted.

Yami Bakura stayed quiet, studying Bakura. The boy seemed more unrestful on this round. Was that going to continue, growing worse and worse as Bakura subconsciously remembered more and more? Yami Bakura hated the thought, but it would certainly be something that demon would do.

Bakura stirred, opening his eyes. "Hello, Yami," he said with a sleepy smile.

"Hello," Yami Bakura nodded. Still no sense denying his identity. Things went wrong whether he did or didn't.

"What are we doing today?" Bakura sat up.

"We're trying to find a way out of this castle," Yami Bakura said. "We've all been trapped here."

"Great Scott, why?!" Bakura looked around the room in distress.

"As part of a sadistic Shadow Game," Yami Bakura grunted. "That's the most important thing to know. That, and you have to be careful of traps. They're everywhere."

"Oh dear. . . ." Bakura got off the couch and finally caught sight of the others. "Hello, everybody. . . ."

"Hey, Bakura." Joey gave a small wave. "So, are we ready to see what else we can find?"

Everyone chorused in the affirmative.

"But do we really have to go back to that creepy picture room?" Joey moaned.

Yugi sighed. "I guess not. . . . I don't know, though. . . . It would be just like Yami Marik to put something important up there, knowing we might not want to stick around long enough to look for it."

"Okay," Joey relented. "You've got a point there, Yug."

"What creepy picture room?" Bakura frowned.

"You'll see soon enough," Yami Bakura said in resignation. 

Now more or less in agreement, the group looked at their map and headed down the pathway that would lead to the secret panel with the staircase to the picture room. None of them were expecting that Bakura would move the correct wall sconce and open the panel, seemingly without consciously thinking about it.

"Uh . . . Bakura?" Yugi blinked.

"How did you know to do that?!" Yami Bakura demanded.

"Oh. . . ." Bakura came back to himself, blinking in surprise at the open wall. "I don't know. . . ." He slowly dropped his hand away from the wall sconce. "That is strange, isn't it?"

"You said it," Joey said.

Yami Bakura gave Bakura a stern look as they headed up the spiral staircase. "Don't pay too much attention to the paintings up here," he ordered.

"Why not?" Bakura looked at him in bewilderment.

"They were put up by that demon just to torment us," Yami Bakura told him.

"How horrible!" Bakura cried.

Then they arrived at the top. Just as before, the paintings along the wall depicted each failure in gruesome detail. Yami Bakura's warning was forgotten and Bakura stared at the images in utter horror and outrage.

"What is this?!" he burst out. "All these tragic ends . . . ! Yami, you've got an axe in your back! Joey, you're impaled!" He walked farther down the hall. "Every one of us laying dead in some sickening manner. . . . Even me. . . ." He came to the end of the gallery and spun around, his hair flying with the motion. "And I . . . I remember these things!"

"What?!" Yami Bakura boomed.

"You remember, Bakura?" Téa stared at him in concern.

"Yes!" Bakura blinked back forming tears. "Not completely, but enough to know it isn't just my imagination!" He backed up. "Why didn't you tell me?! Why didn't you let me know that we're trapped in some sick world where we can die again and again and there's no way out?!"

"Bakura . . ." Téa took a step forward. "If you'll just let us explain. . . ."

"That's what I've wanted all along!" Bakura retorted. "But you all believed I couldn't handle it, didn't you?!"

"It doesn't look like you can handle it," Yami Bakura growled.

Bakura clenched his fists. "It's a horrible thing to get used to, like something out of a nightmare or a Halloween film! But what's even harder to handle is being kept out of the loop about it!"

Tristan came forward. "Will you just wait a minute?! Yami Marik said we couldn't tell you, that it was one of the rules of the Shadow Game! We didn't tell you because we were afraid of what might happen if you found out! You know how sick his games are!"

"He even caused you to forget on every time reset," Yami Bakura said. "The rest of us have to carry the burdens of our memories, but you were spared . . . although I always knew it wasn't for any merciful reason." His eyes narrowed. "Come back, Bakura. Don't let this cause a rift between us."

Bakura stood, clenching and unclenching his fists. ". . . You wanted to see if there was anything else down this way, didn't you?" he said at last.

"Yes," Yami Bakura said slowly.

"Then let's find out." With that, Bakura took off running down the carpeted hall. It stretched before him like an endless darkness, the walls waiting to be filled with infinite failures.

Tristan swore under his breath. "For crying out loud, Bakura! Don't deliberately run into something that will cause time to reset!"

Yami Bakura snarled. "Bakura isn't reckless like this. And I believe he would at least listen to our explanations enough that he would see our reasoning and calm down. He may be under some kind of spell. Obviously he's affected by something or he wouldn't forget on every round." With that, he took off running as well.

"Oh great," Tristan exclaimed. "Now we have to worry about both of those guys!"

Yugi pushed past him. "Well, come on! We have to catch up!" He starting running too.

Praying that this wouldn't lead them all to another bad end, the others followed.


	10. Chapter 10

_True Night_

Yami Bakura's heart was racing as he tore down the dreary hall. Now that they had reached the part without paintings, there were no lights overhead to shine on anything. It was long, it was bare, and it was dark. The only comfort was hearing Bakura's footsteps somewhere ahead of him. The boy was still alright; he hadn't blundered into another trap.

The former thief swore and cursed in both Egyptian and English as he chased his ward and dearest friend. Why had Yugi pushed for them to come up here? And why had Bakura regained memories of these darkest moments just from seeing the paintings? He hadn't before.

Maybe the sheer number of times something had gone wrong had something to do with it. The more bad memories there were, the more they built up in his subconscious mind until finally they had to break free.

"I never should have agreed to come up here," he snarled to himself. "What was the matter with me?!"

The footsteps stopped. He ground to a halt as well, straining to hear something, anything, that would show Bakura was still alive. "Bakura?" he called, his voice gruff and concerned. "Bakura, where are you?"

At first there was no reply. Then, finally, a quiet, "Here."

Yami Bakura hurried on ahead. Now he came to a T-like crossing; another hallway intersected with this one. At its head was a window looking out at the red sky, and underneath that window was Bakura, his knees drawn up to hide his face.

Relief washed over Yami Bakura even as he sat down next to the wayward teenager. "You shouldn't have run off like that, you fool," he growled.

"I know." Bakura didn't look up. "Everything is just suddenly so horrible, so confusing. It feels like . . . like everything I thought I knew is now a lie."

Yami Bakura frowned. "Do you think our caring for you is a lie?"

Now Bakura looked up with a start. "No! Of course not!" His shoulders slumped. "But it feels like . . . like no one trusts me to be able to handle anything. I know Téa said that wasn't the reason, and she and you and everyone said that again now, but still . . . it's hard to see it that way. . . ." He frowned too. "After all, Joey and Tristan apparently felt that I wasn't capable of knowing how to handle your being around again and that since I felt you were harmless now, they needed to step in and take over."

Yami Bakura peered at him. "That's what you think?"

"That's the way I felt when I walked in on everyone at the Game Shop," Bakura said. "They didn't pay me much mind when you really were causing trouble, unless you were directly going after them, but now that you're trying to turn over a new leaf, suddenly they're much too interested."

Yami Bakura growled. Bakura really wasn't under a spell, was he? This was the real him. He had snapped and run away like this once before, when he had felt that Yami Bakura was pressuring him to remember something he absolutely did not want to remember. They had become so much closer since then and Bakura had matured so greatly. But he was still young, and still very capable of being hurt.

For that matter, there was no age limit on being hurt.

"It's ironic, isn't it," Bakura mused. "I wanted so badly for them to pay attention to me, yet at the same time I knew I needed to stay away to keep them safe. But oh, I felt so left-out when they went to California without me to see about that Orichalcos mess! I wanted to help too."

"I know," Yami Bakura grunted. "But I was glad you didn't go. I knew about Dartz and I'd seen how the Orichalcos had twisted his mind. I didn't want you getting mixed up with him."

Bakura leaned back against the wall and looked at him. "If he had succeeded, you would have lost your chance for world domination," he remarked.

"That was true vice versa in ancient Egypt," Yami Bakura said. "Dartz was there and he stepped aside to allow Zorc and me our chance to conquer the world. I imagine he thought the Pharaoh would stop us, and I thought the same when Dartz returned in the present day. I was content to let the Pharaoh deal with him."

Bakura smiled a bit. "You wanted to protect me."

Yami Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Regardless of whether that was true or not, you're not angry about it the way you're angry about being protected now?"

That brought a sigh. "Oh . . . I don't know. I guess I'm so touched that you really did care back then that it's hard to be angry. At the same time, if we'd had this discussion back then, I would have told you that even though it meant a lot to me, I still wanted to help. And you know . . ." Bakura stared off into the distance. "I think I'm so upset about what happened in the Game Shop because I was afraid they really would try to send you away."

Now Yami Bakura was surprised. "Surely you didn't think they'd succeed."

"I didn't think so, but I thought maybe they'd be so intent on it that they'd go looking for some magical object to do it. . . ." Bakura shook his head. "I know it's ridiculous. And it's not really doing justice to any of them. Joey and Tristan may not like or trust you, but they know Shadi and Atem both allowed you back. They wouldn't try to overturn that. They were just talking." He sighed. "But it was such a shock that I didn't let myself calm down and process that. And I walked right into that attack from Yami Marik. . . ." He stiffened. "That's how we ended up in this world, isn't it?! It's my fault!" Anguish filled his eyes.

Yami Bakura pushed away from the wall and gripped Bakura's shoulders. "Now you listen to me," he growled. "It is not your fault! That fiend wanted to send us here and he would have done it whether you had walked into his path or not. And . . ." He hesitated. "Technically, he told us we weren't supposed to let you know we're really us. You were supposed to think we were the Duel Monsters we're dressed as. We tried that for a few rounds, but you were never fooled, so we finally gave up. Maybe we should have ignored that demon's other rule and told you the rest of the truth as well. It wasn't that we didn't think you could handle it. It was that what's been happening has been so draining, so devastating, that we wanted to spare you the pain we've been going through."

"Yami. . . ." Bakura leaned forward, pulling the man into a hug. "I want to share the pain. But . . . I'm so happy that I have true friends like you and Yugi and all the others. I'm sorry for being a twit and running off like that. I want to apologize to all of them."

"You don't have to, Bakura."

The two started. Everyone else had caught up and was standing awkwardly at the end of the hall. Clearly they had heard a great deal of the conversation.

"We should apologize for eavesdropping on a private conversation," Téa said.

"Not to mention for making you feel like we would ever try to go against your wishes and get rid of this guy," Joey added, gesturing at Yami Bakura.

Tristan nodded. "You're right, we never would have really done that."

"And if they'd brought it up, Téa and I would have put our feet down," Yugi said.

"That's good to know," Yami Bakura flatly commented.

Bakura smiled. "Yes, it is." He got to his feet. "I hope we won't have to start over any more times. But if we do, will you promise to include me and not leave me out of the loop?"

"I sure do," Téa said. "It's been really hard holding back!"

"Same here," Joey nodded.

The others chorused various expressions of agreement.

"Good," Bakura said. "Honestly, I think that if Yami Marik had a reason for keeping me in the dark, it was because he knew that we would become all the more united if I was in on everything. So he frightened you by saying something terrible would happen if I was told."

"I have to say, that makes a lot of sense," Tristan said.

"So let's start off all together now and see if we can find the way out," Bakura continued. "There are two paths leading off from here. Let's try one of them, and if we fail, we'll try the other on the next round."

"Sounds good to me," Joey said.

Yami Bakura had to marvel at how calmly Bakura talked about another possible round. Of course, even if he was remembering bits and pieces of the truth, it was nothing compared to the agony of a death happening right there in the here and now. If that happened again, the boy's heart would be pierced.

And then he would forget and it would all start over again. . . .

Yami Bakura pushed the thought aside as they agreed to try the left-hand path first. But it was always there in the back of his mind, and he knew it was the same for the others. Would a statue fire an arrow? Would the floor open up? Would something heavy crash down from the ceiling? They were all on high alert, tense and afraid of when and where the next disaster would strike and who it would strike. It seemed odd that the hallway they had just come through was trap-free. Maybe it was meant to lure them into a false sense of security and these branch-off paths would be filled with traps.

"It's interesting down here," Bakura mused, reaching to finger a statue of The Dark Ruler on a table.

Yami Bakura grabbed his hand. "Don't touch that!"

Bakura jerked. "Why not?!"

"Because it might be poisoned," Yami Bakura growled. "Another statue was."

"Oh!" Bakura quickly moved away from the table, his eyes wide.

Tristan sighed. "I don't remember your Dark Sanctuary card having any backstory to it or having anything to do with The Dark Ruler. I thought the only monster card connected with it was Dark Necrofear."

"Yes, that's true," Yami Bakura said. "Apparently that demon decided to fill in the blanks."

"But The Dark Ruler is supposed to be the ruler of the Underworld," Bakura said. "Does that mean we're in . . ." He swallowed hard.

"It's supposed to be the Duel Monsters' dimension," Yugi said. "But for all we know, maybe this is their Underworld."

"It feels enough like Hell to be the real thing," Yami Bakura growled.

Bakura had the feeling he was not just being sarcastic.

"This hallway sure goes on forever," Joey frowned. "And there's barely anything here! Do you think they're really saving all this space for more paintings?"

"I bet they are," Téa moaned.

"Well, let's just make sure they don't have the chance to fill them all up," Tristan said.

"Easier said than done," Yugi sighed.

"Hey," Bakura said then. "We're coming up on something. It looks like another staircase." He pointed ahead.

"True, and it's another spiral staircase," Yami Bakura mused. "It may go into one of the towers."

"Let's hope so!" Yugi said.

They all mounted the stairs and started up, wary of traps. When there were still none, they grew more suspicious instead of less.

"Man, any second I'm thinking something terrible is going to happen and then it doesn't!" Joey exclaimed.

"That should really be a good thing," Tristan remarked. "Only it isn't when we're all tense."

"You said it," Joey said. "This place gives me the creeps!"

They reached the top and stepped out onto a round floor. Windows surrounded them on every side.

"Well, hey, what do you know," Tristan commented. "It really is one of the towers."

Joey ran to the nearest window. "We're really high up," he gulped. "I'd hate to fall from here."

"Then don't lean over too close, you fool," Yami Bakura snapped.

Yugi nodded in agreement. "We can see all we need to without doing that. From the middle of the floor we can see the other towers and where they are. It looks like one of them is directly across from here. It's probably down the right-hand path."

"And there's two more beyond it," Téa pointed. "With another, shorter one down there."

"There is one tower we cannot see from here," Yami Bakura pointed out. "The largest tower in the middle. My guess is that our final challenge may lie there."

"Aww great," Joey said in frustration. "And how're we gonna find that one?!"

"We'll just have to look everywhere," Yugi determined. "There have to be some stairs somewhere, if we're meant to get to that tower."

"Meanwhile, there's nothing to see here," Tristan said. "Let's go back down and take the right-hand path."

"Actually, there must be ways to access all of the back towers from here," Yami Bakura remarked. "We'll have to try all along the wall for secret panels leading to them."

"Works for me," Joey shrugged. "Only if they're all as bare as this one, what's the point?"

"The others may not be as bare as this one," Yami Bakura retorted.

Yugi nodded. "We'll have to try."

And try they did. They searched desperately all along the back wall when they got back down to the third floor. After much poking and prodding without success, they were all frustrated.

"Man, maybe there isn't a way into those other towers from here," Joey said in despair. He leaned on the wall with one hand.

A brick suddenly pushed in, nearly sending him to the floor with a yelp when it moved.

"Joey, you found it!" Bakura exclaimed. "At least you found the way to one of them!"

"I did?" Joey turned, blinking dumbly at the wall as it groaned and swung inward. Then he beamed. "Alright! What'd I tell you, folks? That's some Joey magic right there!"

"How about, that's some dumb luck right there?" Tristan returned. "Or maybe dumb luck is the Joey magic!"

Joey scowled. "Ha ha. Very funny."

"Let's just go up, guys," Yugi encouraged. He had never really understood some of the ways Joey and Tristan showed affection for each other; insults and physical fights were certainly not his way. Téa, who often enjoyed a good tease, understood it better. Yami Bakura looked slightly, darkly amused, while Bakura chuckled quietly and scratched his cheek.

It was another spiral staircase beyond the open wall, and just as Bakura had when they had first discovered the secret panel to the picture room, he placed a table in the opening so the wall hopefully couldn't swing shut again and trap them inside. As they went up the stairs, Téa was the first to notice that something wasn't right.

"Eww! Gross!" She was staring at the torches lighting the way up.

"What's the problem, Téa . . . GAH!" Joey stared too. "Okay, now that is just sick!"

Yami Bakura just laughed. "You people can't handle the sight of hands holding up the torches? They're not real hands; they're sculpted!"

Indeed, every torch-holder was shaped like a hand firmly gripping the object. But not just any hands—they were highly realistic and detailed, with every wrinkle and curve standing out against the light of the fire they bore.

Yugi cringed. "That really is pretty grotesque. . . ."

"Leave it to Yami Marik to go and do something like that," Tristan scowled.

Bakura shuddered. "You're really not bothered, Yami?"

"Why should I be?" Yami Bakura snorted. "Now, if they were actual, severed hands, that might be a different story. Although, since that wouldn't be possible and such a thing could only be an illusion . . ." He sneered. "I might enjoy teasing certain susceptible people with such an illusion."

"Oh Yami!" Bakura lightly swatted him on the shoulder. "That's horrible!"

"That's . . . quite possibly the most disturbing thing I've heard in a while," Tristan said.

A shrug. "I'm not trying to destroy the world, but I'm still not a saint," Yami Bakura said. "It's not any different than people who want to decorate for Halloween in the most realistically gruesome way."

". . . I hate to say he's got a point," Tristan frowned. "I never was much of a fan of realistically gruesome Halloween decor."

"Only people know the decor is fake," Téa pointed out.

"And any halfway intelligent person should know the same thing about apparently realistic hands coming out of the wall bearing torches," Yami Bakura sneered.

Joey swallowed hard. "I really hope all this talk is just getting to me, because if it's not . . ." He quaked. "One of those hands just moved!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Yami Bakura snorted. "They couldn't!"

A strange creaking noise brought everyone's attention upward. One hand's forefinger was starting to move, uncurling from around the torch and pointing directly at Joey.

Quite naturally, Joey shrieked. "What the heck?! What's it doing!? Why's it pointing at me?!"

"Maybe you're going to be the next victim!" Téa cried.

"No way!" Joey yelled. "None of us are going to be victims! We're getting out of here this time! You hear that, you freaky Palm Tree Head?!" And he barreled past everyone to get upstairs.

"Joey, wait!" Yugi exclaimed.

"You might be doing exactly what he wants you to do!" Bakura added.

That caused Joey to stumble to a halt. "You really think so?"

"Hey, with that creep, who knows," Tristan said. "But why take chances? Let's all keep going up together."

Joey sighed. "Okay, Tristan. You win."

"Let's hope we all win," Tristan countered.

But the more they tried to ascend the stairs, the more other fingers on other hands uncurled and pointed at someone in the group. It wasn't always Joey; before long, fingers were pointing at every member of the group.

"You can't tell me this isn't creepy," Joey said, staring down the nearest finger.

"It's really creepy," Téa quavered.

"But it looks like it's just a psych-out tactic," Yugi said. "Nothing's happening aside from the pointing fingers."

"Unless . . ." Bakura looked up at the top of the stairs, which was very close now. "Maybe they're pointing to tell us that we're all doomed if we go up there. . . ."

Yami Bakura growled. "We had better not be doomed."

"I'll go first," Yugi insisted, walking past Joey to get in the lead again.

Joey stared at him in alarm. "But Yug . . . !"

"I have the most attack points now, thanks to these power-ups," Yugi said. "It only makes sense for me to go first."

"On the other hand, an even more powerful monster or a trap card can weaken or take out a player's strongest monster almost immediately," Yami Bakura gruffly pointed out. "Playing the strongest possible monster before seeing what the other player can do is often a very foolish move."

Yugi sighed. He of course knew that was true, but it didn't change his mind about wanting to go first to try to protect the others. He went up the final step and into the tower room. "I don't see anything up here," he started to say.

Something flew past him in the next moment and he yelped and ducked. Below on the stairs, Téa screamed and pointed her staff. "Dark Burning Attack!"

Whatever it was, was defeated.

"What was that thing?" Tristan frowned.

"I think it was some kind of bat," Téa shuddered.

"Well, hopefully it won't be a problem," Bakura said slowly. "There are several bats in Duel Monsters, but they generally have very low attack points and rarely have a dangerous effect."

"What about the times when they do?!" Joey shot back.

Bakura thought about it. "There's Vampire Bat. . . . It increases Zombie Duel Monsters' attack strength by 200 points. And if you have multiple Vampire Bats in your deck, you can destroy one of those in place of having one on the field destroyed."

"That thing definitely blew up," Téa said slowly. "So can we figure on it not having any creepy effects?"

"Probably," Bakura said. "Unless it was Vampire Familiar instead. . . ."

"What's that do?!" Joey yelped.

Yami Bakura glowered up at the tower room as they drew closer to it. "If it's Special Summoned, you can add another Vampire card to your hand, except another Familiar. More concerning, if it's destroyed, you can destroy a different Vampire card to bring it back to the field."

A strange, inhuman shriek filled the tower.

"Why do I have the horrible feeling it was a Vampire Familiar?" Joey moaned.

"It's a low-level monster," Yami Bakura growled. "Destroying it again shouldn't be a problem. It can't keep coming back indefinitely, but only as many times as there are other Vampire cards that you don't mind destroying. And honestly, with so many strong Vampire cards, it would be beyond foolish to destroy them to revive such a weak monster over and over again."

"I guess that makes sense," Joey said. "Only when we're dealing with a nut like Yami Marik, how do we know what he'd think?!"

Now a chilling laugh echoed throughout the tower—a dark, cruel, and familiar laugh.

"Whatever he's thinking, it's not good," Tristan groaned.


	11. Chapter 11

_True Night_

Eerie silence reigned after the cruel laughter stopped. Everyone looked at each other, bewildered, shaken, before slowly ascending the rest of the steps to follow Yugi into the second tower. With the bat defeated, the tower stood empty, just as the first.

"I don't get it, guys," Yugi said. "I really don't see anything here."

"That should make me feel good," Téa said. "Why doesn't it?"

"Because we're dealing with a psycho artichoke head?" Joey retorted.

"Good enough reason," Téa sighed.

"Hey, maybe the bat is all there was," Tristan said. "Maybe it was just another way to freak all of us out."

"I'm sure freaked out," Joey shuddered.

"Well, if there's nothing else to see up here, we'd better go back down," Bakura said.

Yami Bakura growled. He wasn't so sure it was that simple, but he also didn't want to risk running into any traps. On the other hand . . .

"Unfortunately, we probably need to make certain there aren't any clues in here," he said.

"Yeah, that's true," Yugi said. "There could be something."

"Hey, don't puzzle games usually have random objects that you'll need later, like flashlights or keys or something?" Joey suddenly asked. "We haven't found anything like that here!"

"Maybe the Duel Monster power-ups are the equivalent of that," Tristan said.

"Yeah, maybe," Joey said slowly. "I dunno. . . . It seems like there really should be both."

"That's a good point, Joey," Yugi said. "It does seem like there should be something like that. Of course, we still don't even really know how this game works, beyond needing to stay alive to get through it. But we should stay on the alert for anything that could be something we should take." He started to walk around the perimeter of the room. "I'll start looking for secret panels that could be concealing items or power-ups."

Everyone else spread out to do likewise.

After a moment, Joey scowled. "The only thing I'm finding is a playing card with that freak on it."

"Huh?" Tristan turned to look. Joey was holding up exactly what he had described. It was designed like a Duel Monsters card, with Yami Marik sticking out his tongue as the illustration. "Charming."

"This must be a booby prize," Joey said in disgust. He tossed it back on the floor. "There's nothing to find up here."

The card exploded when it hit.

Everyone jumped.

"Oh, great going, Sherlock," Tristan exclaimed. "We could have all got blown up!"

"Well, at least Joey realized that anything with Yami Marik on it couldn't be a good thing," Yugi said.

"It doesn't take brains to realize that," Tristan said.

Bakura straightened from where he had tried pulling up the rug. "There really doesn't seem to be anything else here," he said. "I think we should leave and try the next tower."

Yugi sighed. "Yeah, I think Bakura's right, guys." He turned back to the stairs. "Let's go."

Everyone trouped down the stairs, looking towards the ceiling for any more flying bats.

"I don't see anything. Do you?" Joey quavered.

"There's nothing there," Tristan insisted.

"Except for that shadow!" Téa yelped and ducked.

So did everyone else. But when nothing followed the shadow, they straightened and looked up, baffled.

"What the heck was that?!" Joey cried.

"A bat ghost?" Bakura suggested.

"It could be," Yami Bakura growled. "Or something like a Shadow Ghoul that hides in the shadows and strikes when it feels like it."

Joey cringed in horror. "Say it ain't so! That's all we need!" He tried to gallop down the stairs.

Tristan grabbed him. "Don't do something stupid, man! You know you'll probably trip and fall all the way to the bottom and break your neck or something!"

Joey froze. "You've got a good point there."

"So let's all just go down nice and normal," Tristan encouraged, "no matter how many bat shadows fly overhead. I mean, come on! I didn't think you were afraid of bats."

"I'm not . . . usually," Joey retorted. "This isn't a usual situation!"

"Well, at least that's one thing we all agree on," Téa sighed.

"I don't know," Bakura worried. "I have the terrible feeling that something is drastically wrong."

No one could disagree. But they didn't know what else to do but try to get down.

At first everything was well and normal. It was only when they got farther down the stairs that the stone hands holding the torches came to life. Every one of them threw their deadly fire directly at Yami Bakura. He managed to dodge some and blast others, but some of the torches hit their mark. He screamed as the objects' fire caught hold of his clothing and his skin.

Everyone else did too.

"Yami!" Bakura's voice was strangled in his anguish.

"Do something!" Tristan yelled.

"What?!" Tears filled Téa's eyes. "None of us have Water powers!"

Joey swore. "We've gotta do something!" he cried.

"We can't." Yugi was stricken, just staring at Yami Bakura in horrified disbelief.

Yami Bakura stared at his burning hands, his heart pounding in his chest. "Stop! Stop!" he yelled. Frantic, he tried to concentrate on the Infinity Ring's powers to put the fire out, but to no avail. He stumbled, tripping and falling the rest of the way to the bottom. Bakura's screams and sobs were the last things he heard as oblivion sank over him.

_True Reality_

"Oh!" Bakura went sheet-white. "Yami. . . ." He whirled to look at his ancestor. "You're so afraid of being burned because of what we saw the Infinity Star do to the White Death. . . . You're so worried that will happen to you. . . ."

"Yes," Yami Bakura rasped. He gazed down at his hands, reassuring himself that they were not on fire. Then, slowly, he clenched his fists.

"How cruel!" Bakura spat. "Imagine, Yami Marik making you believe such a thing was happening to you!"

"That's totally sick," Tristan said, deeply shaken.

Everyone else loudly declared their agreement.

Yami Bakura looked up at Atem. "I can't imagine I went into the next reset without emotional scars," he said.

Atem gave a heavy sigh. "You're right."

_True Night_

Yami Bakura was still laying on the floor, shaking violently, when time reset. Everyone else, badly disturbed as well, was gathered around the couch looking down at him.

"H-Hey," Joey exclaimed. "You're okay now, you know?"

Yami Bakura didn't respond for a long moment. Finally he rasped, "I'm burning. The flesh is melting from my bones. I failed the test and the Infinity Ring is punishing me!" He threw his hands over the back of his neck and his hair.

"Come on! It's all fake, you know!" Tristan came forward and grabbed at Yami Bakura's robe, trying to haul him off the floor. "It's all in our heads!" He gave the man a rough shake.

"Easy, Tristan," Yugi said in alarm. "He's suffered a really bad shock."

"Well, maybe I'm not feeling so good either!" Tristan let Yami Bakura go and the thief curled into a trembling ball on the floor. "You think I liked watching him burn?! And now he's completely lost it!"

"It must be something he really fears," Téa said softly. "How awful. . . ."

Joey frowned, looking to Bakura on the couch. "I wonder if Bakura will remember this when he wakes up. . . ."

"I bet he will," Yugi worried. "At least in part."

Yami Bakura seemingly ignored them all, shaking, whispering to himself in Egyptian.

Tristan glowered down at him. "Pull yourself together already!" he snapped. "We can't go on with you like this!"

Téa looked to him with a start. "Give him a few minutes," she protested. "What he just went through was horrible!"

"Oh, and what the rest of us have gone through isn't?!" Tristan turned away, gripping his arms. "You don't see any of us falling apart like this!"

"You're falling apart right now," Joey pointed out. "What's really the problem, Tristan? It's not about him, is it?"

Tristan wouldn't face him. "It is. . . . Just not the way you think."

"So, what're we thinking?" Joey countered.

"That I'm mad at him. . . . That I think he shouldn't be breaking down after everything he put us through in the past. . . ."

"Is that what you're thinking, Tristan?" Yugi asked.

"Part of me thinks I should be thinking it," Tristan said. "But no . . . I'm not. I'm screaming for him to not have a meltdown because I'm having one inside . . . and seeing him having one is causing me to have one on the outside. Maybe I could still hold mine in if he could. Seeing someone burning . . . that seems even worse that what we've been going through up to now. I mean, it's not like a split-second thing like getting stabbed or shot; it's something that keeps going on and on! And all we can do is just stand there and watch . . ." He trailed off.

Téa looked at him in understanding and sorrow. "It really was horrible."

Tristan continued as if he hadn't heard. "I keep trying to tell myself this is all fake, because it is, and as long as we hold it together it's easier to deal with. He's been strong all through this mess. When the rest of us felt like having a breakdown, or even started to, he didn't. He kept us strong . . . me strong. And now he's lost it." He stared down at the old Egyptian. "I don't know how to deal with seeing him like this and I don't know how to help him." He shut his eyes tightly. "I feel so helpless . . . so useless."

Yugi was surprised. "Tristan. . . ."

Joey gripped his shoulder. "You've got a good point, Tristan." He heaved a deep breath. "This isn't easy on me, either. But even if we can't help him, I think there's someone here who can."

Bakura stirred, flying awake with wide, haunted eyes. "Yami!" He sprang upright and looked over the edge of the couch. "Oh Yami. . . ." He climbed down and just knelt next to his friend, hugging him close. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. . . ." Tears slipped from his eyes.

For a long moment Yami Bakura just trembled in Bakura's arms, not facing him. But at last he turned, throwing his arms around his lifeline and clutching him close.

Yugi relaxed. "He'll be okay." Sadness flickered through his eyes. "Remember, they've been through this before."

"Yeah," Tristan spat in disgust. "Yami Marik already broke him down and he was just getting better from that. And now all this!"

"I think . . . he's strong enough to take it," Yugi said softly. "As long as we eventually all get out of here okay." He didn't say more, but all of them knew what silently hung in the air.

_If he loses Bakura for real, that's the one thing he can't take._

Bakura was still crying, the tears sliding down his face and into Yami Bakura's hair. "You fear dying that way so much and now you had to suffer it," he whispered. "But I'm here for you now, Yami. I'm here. . . ."

"So he remembers," Tristan realized. "And it sounds like he remembers that time keeps resetting."

"Why?" Téa wondered. "Because it was so awful?"

"I think that since we finally told Bakura the truth, he's going to remember on each reset, just like the rest of us," Yugi said. "But maybe that will be our advantage instead of being something that will cause more trouble."

"There's still one thing he doesn't know," Joey said grimly.

They all bowed their heads. None of them wanted to tell Bakura the real reason why they were trapped in this world. Then he really would feel like it was his fault. And he would probably beg them to stop and accept his death so they wouldn't have to keep suffering.

But for Yami Bakura especially, that would be when worse suffering would begin.

****

It was some time before Yami Bakura fully got himself under control. When he pulled back from Bakura at last and started to process the scene around them, he flushed in humiliation.

"I can't believe this," he snarled. "I let myself behave like a whimpering child, in front of everyone! And until now, I didn't even care."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Yami," Bakura said softly. "You had to experience something you absolutely fear with all your heart. After all the countless resets, you couldn't take it any longer."

"I'm weak," Yami Bakura growled. "Look at Tristan. He knew it."

Tristan flinched, guilt sweeping over his features. "I never should have acted that way. I was worried about you, and I hated seeing you hurt, but it didn't come across like that at all. I'm sorry."

Yami Bakura gave a weary shrug. "I probably wouldn't have had much patience with myself either."

"You had patience with me when I was suffering from what the White Death did," Bakura said gently.

"It's easier to be patient with those you care about," Yami Bakura grunted. "But I was gruff and growled at you."

"And that was alright, because it's who you are," Bakura said. "You were worried underneath it all, and you showed it."

"You're not weak," Tristan suddenly barked. "You're a strong person or you couldn't keep bouncing back from everything you've gone through."

"By that logic, you aren't weak either," Yami Bakura said. "None of you are weak."

"Well, thank you," Joey said. "I don't feel weak, it's true."

Tristan just stared at Yami Bakura in shocked surprise. ". . . I feel like I could be stronger," he muttered.

"You didn't snap until I did," Yami Bakura said.

"I shouldn't have snapped at all," Tristan retorted.

"It's hard not to, in this place," Téa said.

Yugi nodded. "It would get to anyone after a while, no matter how strong they are." He turned and glowered at the ceiling. "That's what he wants. And you can bet he's watching all of us from somewhere."

"Then let's show him we're not licked yet," Bakura said. "Let's find the way out of this place!"

Yami Bakura got to his feet. "And when we do get out of here, he's going to regret ever putting us in here," he vowed, his voice dark and hateful.

No one could find it in them to say anything against that.

****

Once again they took the secret stairs up to the picture room. Each of them made a point not to look at any of the paintings, especially the new addition. Instead they walked in determination down the hall to the end and studied the wall.

"Okay, so the towers we already tried are that way," Joey said, pointing left, "so the other two are probably this way." He turned to the right-hand path.

"Makes sense to me," Tristan shrugged.

The wall, however, seemed very unwilling to give up any more secret passageways. No matter where they tapped, pushed, or kicked, nothing happened aside from the discovery of a brick with an odd poem.

"AURGH! It should be right around here!" Joey finally boomed, messing up his hair in utter frustration. "So where the heck is it?!"

Téa walked over to the area with a thoughtful frown. "I know you're not going to want to hear this, Joey, but the only thing here at all is this stone with the poem carved in it." She peered at it more closely. "And . . . I think it might be a riddle."

"A riddle?!" Joey shrieked. "No! That jerk probably put it there on purpose to torture me! He probably knows I hate riddles!"

"Well, if he didn't, he certainly does now," Yami Bakura flatly told him.

"What does it say, Téa?" Yugi asked.

Téa looked it over again before she started to read.

_The fact that you made it this far is impressive  
Of that boy you certainly are possessive!  
But don't think your troubles are over yet;  
You won't easily get into the next tower, I bet._

"Is that it?!" Joey exclaimed. "I don't hear anything in there that sounds like a clue!"

"What on Earth does he mean about everyone being possessive of me?!" Bakura exclaimed.

"Nevermind," Yami Bakura growled. "He's just being obnoxious."

". . . Well . . ." Téa bit her lip. "What if that's the clue? Somehow. . . ."

"How could that be?" Bakura mused. "Does it mean that to get into the next passageway, everyone has to stop being possessive . . . er, protective of me?" He stepped closer to the wall. "Maybe I'm supposed to open it. . . ."

"Hey, with this freak, anything is possible," Joey said. "But what kind of passageway would open based on a specific person?"

"Something voice-activated, maybe?" Bakura suggested. "Only I've been talking and nothing's happening. . . ."

"So that should be that," Yami Bakura growled.

"Unless maybe Bakura has to speak specific words," Yugi said. "Maybe he has to read that rhyme, or say his name, or something. . . ."

Bakura flushed. "I'd hate to read that rhyme aloud. . . ."

"Well, try it, Bakura," Joey encouraged. "It couldn't hurt!"

"No, I suppose not. . . ." Looking completely awkward, Bakura went over to the wall. Deciding to try something less awkward first, he said to it, "I am Ryou Bakura."

The wall stayed silent.

"I guess you'll have to try the poem," Tristan said.

Bakura sighed. "Unfortunately." After a hesitation, he started to read in a loud, clear voice. At the conclusion, he stepped back to wait.

"Nothing's happening," Joey frowned.

The wall groaned and creaked open.

"You were saying?" Téa said dryly.

Yami Bakura wasn't convinced. "It could be a trick."

"Well, let's find out!" Joey took a step forward and slammed into an invisible barrier. "OW! What the heck?!"

Yugi reached out and touched what felt solid even though nothing was there. "That's weird," he blinked. "Unless . . ." He looked to Bakura. "Why don't you try it, Bakura?"

Bakura blinked. "Me?" He slowly put out a hand. It slid through the barrier.

"That must be it!" Yugi exclaimed. "Bakura has to go ahead of us in order for any of us to get into this tower!"

Yami Bakura snarled. "That fiend! Anything could happen to him if he takes the lead!"

"Maybe not, Yami," Bakura said. "If I have to go first, then I suppose anything happening to me would trap all of you in the tower, or else make an automatic Game Over. I think it's worth taking a chance."

Yami Bakura put his hand up to the space and found the barrier. "It doesn't look like we have any other choice," he said in disgust.

Bakura nodded. "I'm afraid not." He smiled a bit. "Although I can't deny I like being able to be useful."

"Naturally," Yami Bakura muttered. And he couldn't blame the boy. He just hoped this wouldn't go badly.

In determination, and a bit of apprehension in spite of his desire to help, Bakura stepped through the barrier. With him having opened the way, everyone else was able to walk through as well. As he had thought, nothing happened to hurt any of them on their way up. They made it safely to the top and found themselves in yet another circular and apparently bare room.

"So, what's so special about this place? Anything?" Joey looked around.

"It doesn't look like it," Téa sighed.

"Wait, guys." Yugi bent down and pulled something up from under the edge of the red carpet. "It's an old key." He held it up. "This might be useful somewhere along the way! Joey, you might be right about this game having items other than the power-ups!"

Joey blinked in surprise. "It kind of looks that way, doesn't it."

"Good show!" Bakura exclaimed. ". . . Oh. . . . I hope the key isn't a red herring and it's poisoned, like those statues. . . ."

Yugi looked it over. "I don't see any place for poison, and it's not rusty." He slipped it into a large pocket in his robe. "I'm going to hope for the best."

Everyone else concurred.


	12. Chapter 12

_True Night_

The group soon headed out of the tower and back down the stairs, staying alert for any new traps that might get sprung on them. But as with the first tower, nothing happened.

Téa sighed and slumped against the wall. "I wish I could feel that it's a good thing nothing bad happened to us in there," she said, "but I just can't."

"I think we're all expecting the other shoe to drop," Bakura said. "And we have to find the way into that other tower."

The wall Téa was leaning against suddenly swung inward. "Whoa!" She spun around. "I think I just found it!"

Everyone gathered around the opening. Unlike the others, it led to a thin pathway. Some distance ahead, the spiral staircase began.

"Of course," Yugi mused. "This tower is more in front of the others. The pathway makes sense. We have to go down it to get to where the tower is!"

"But it bein' trap-free doesn't make sense," Joey shuddered. "There's probably somethin' freaky waiting there for us!"

"Well, we're still going to have to check it out," Yugi said. "We must be close to getting out of here, guys! We'll stay on the alert and do the best we can."

Tristan took a coin out of his pocket and threw it at the path. Two bricks overturned and revealed what looked like a bear trap attached to them. The sharp metal jaws snapped.

Yami Bakura flinched. "That fiend probably put that there on purpose to remind me of my fight against Mahad," he growled. "There were traps like that where we were."

"So how would he know about that?" Tristan wondered. "In fact, how did he know you're afraid of burning alive?"

Yami Bakura scowled and stepped into the secret passage. "He knows because he did a mind probe on me," he retorted.

"Mind probe?!" Joey stared with wide eyes. "Isn't that some kind of mad scientist thing?!"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Yami Bakura grunted.

They slowly advanced down the path, staying on the alert for anything else that might go wrong. Once they passed the bear trap, Joey threw a coin ahead of them to see if anything else would flip over. Nothing did . . . but then a section of the path dropped out and fell into oblivion below.

"Gah!" Joey yelped.

"That isn't too big a gap," Téa said. "We should be able to clear that, no problem."

"Unless Yugi might need some help to clear it," Yami Bakura grunted.

Yugi flushed. But even though it was embarrassing, he had to admit it might be too large a space for short Muto legs.

"No problem," Joey said. "I'll get Yug across!"

They advanced carefully, not wanting to jar any other bricks or traps loose. When they were close to the drop-off, Joey suddenly grabbed Yugi, ran, and leaped across the space. Stunned by the sudden grab, Yugi went stiff, eyes wide. Then they landed safely on the other side.

"Alright!" Joey grinned as he set Yugi down. "How's that?!"

"That was great," Yugi gasped.

Tristan looked to the others. "You guys go next," he encouraged. "I'll go after all of you."

Bakura gave him a concerned look. "Are you sure, Tristan?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Tristan nodded. "Maybe I can stop anything else from going wrong for any of you."

Téa nodded too. "Okay then." She leaped in the air and did a jeté across the opening that any ballet teacher would have been thoroughly proud of.

Yami Bakura looked to Bakura. "You go next," he instructed. He intended to follow in mid-air if possible. The boy wasn't terribly athletic, but he had a good physique and Yami Bakura was sure he could make it across if he really threw himself into it. But he wanted to be close behind to try to push him over the rest of the way, just in case.

Bakura definitely looked nervous, but he knew he had to get across. "Well . . . alright," he said slowly. He jumped, wavering briefly and worryingly in mid-air before careening to the side and crashing down on the other side with a yelp.

Yami Bakura flinched and growled, hurrying to jump across as well. As he landed, Yugi and the rest were already gathering around Bakura, who was awkwardly sitting up on the stone bricks.

"Are you okay, Bakura?" Yugi asked in concern.

"I think so," Bakura winced. "Except for my leg. . . ."

Yami Bakura pulled up Bakura's right pant leg, even as Bakura flushed in embarrassment with Téa present. A cruel purplish mark was already forming on his shin. Yami Bakura felt around it while Bakura flinched in pain.

"It's not broken," Yami Bakura reported then. "Just badly bruised."

Bakura sighed. "Oh, I'm so clumsy. I'm always so useless in P.E. class. . . ."

Tristan leaped over now as well. "If you can't walk, Bakura, I can carry you on my back," he offered.

Bakura gave him a sincere but still-embarrassed smile. "Thank you, Tristan, but I should be able to walk." He started to get up and swayed. "Oh my. . . ." The pain flashing through his eyes when he tried to put pressure on his right leg was obvious.

Yami Bakura caught him with a growl. "We are not risking you falling off of here. Either Tristan will carry you or I will."

Bakura looked up at him in surprise. "But you're not in your Egyptian form, Yami. . . . How could you . . ."

Yami Bakura scooped him up before he could finish his query. "I don't know, but in this world I can."

Bakura yelped, further surprised, but quickly settled down when Yami Bakura started walking, clearly able to carry him without straining himself. "I should be able to manage with it when it's just a bruise," he commented.

"Not in a dangerous situation, and not when you can clearly, hardly walk," Yami Bakura shot back.

Bakura smiled a bit and decided to forget about being embarrassed even though they weren't alone. He brought his arm around Yami Bakura's shoulders as they walked.

The others took up the search for traps along the rest of the path. But nothing more happened until the very end, when Joey stepped over to the stairs and an axe dropped from the ceiling with a loud clang. Joey yelped, jumping a mile.

"It's okay, Joey," Yugi called from behind him. "It landed in the floor. Boy, we'd better sure be careful, though; there might be more of them around."

"No kidding," Joey said in horror as he looked over his shoulder.

Everyone else slowly trouped forward and around the cruel weapon now buried between the stone bricks. "You'd think there must be something major up in this tower, considering how long it's taking us to get there," Tristan said.

"Only that would be the final irony of this mess, that nothing is there and we went through all of this for nothing," Yami Bakura shot back.

"Don't even say that," Tristan groaned. "There has to be something there!"

"Don't forget, there's another tower that stands above all of these," Yami Bakura said. "That is likely another location we will have to visit before we can get out of here."

"Oh dear," Bakura worried.

Their footsteps echoed eerily on the stone steps. No traps appeared to stop them, and they made it into the tower room without further difficulty.

"I don't see anything up here," Joey said with a frown. His hands went to his hips.

"Maybe there's another hidden clue, like that key," Bakura suggested.

A cold breeze swept over all of them.

Joey screamed. "Was that a ghost?!"

"No," Yami Bakura grunted. He looked up at the ceiling as darkness started to descend on them. "We took a wrong turn. This tower was a false move after all."

Bakura swallowed hard. "What happens now?"

"Now, we start over again," Yami Bakura growled. He held Bakura close.

****

No one was surprised to wake up back in the grand hall downstairs, but they were all frustrated and angry.

"I can't believe we went through all of that for nothing!" Joey exclaimed, kicking the leg of the couch.

Yugi sighed, but the anger was flickering in his eyes too. "I guess it's no different than all the other false paths we went down, but it's still upsetting when it took so long to get there!"

Téa nodded in complete agreement. "You said it, Yugi."

"I just hope that creep didn't just decide to do that because he heard what you said," Tristan said to Yami Bakura.

"Unlikely," Yami Bakura retorted. "He probably thought that would be a good joke from the beginning."

"Well, I'm not laughing," Tristan growled.

Yami Bakura sat on the edge of the couch and decided to examine Bakura's leg. "We have to find our way to the other tower. The game might very well end up there."

"Oh yeah?" Tristan turned to look at him. "What makes you so sure? The solution could just as easily be downstairs in the dungeon. Maybe Yami Marik has a torture chamber. Did you ever think of that?"

"Yes!" Yami Bakura snapped. "But landing in a torture chamber would be another bad end. That would most certainly not lead to the way out!"

"You sure wouldn't think so," Yugi said.

"And we haven't found any way into the other tower," Yami Bakura continued. "It's far more likely that the final stage is there, and that that demon is going to make us work for it every step of the way."

"Which is what he's been doing all this time," Tristan scowled.

Bakura stirred and looked up. "Have we started over again?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Yami Bakura pulled Bakura's pant leg down. "But your leg is healed."

"That's good." Bakura slowly sat up. "So, what's the plan for this round?"

"The Thief King here wants us to find some other tower that so far we haven't had any luck in finding," Tristan growled.

"And this fool wants us to look for a dungeon with a torture chamber," Yami Bakura snapped right back.

"I'm not looking for any torture chamber!" Téa loudly proclaimed. "If some of the paths around here just lead to bad ends and we're not supposed to go down them, I agree with Yami Bakura that a torture chamber would be one of those."

"Unless Laughing Boy would hide an important clue down there or something," Tristan muttered. "I mean, isn't that what we've been talking about all along, that he'll pull things like that and hide clues in crummy places? What if we can't complete this Shadow Game without going downstairs? You've been saying stuff like that, Yugi."

Yugi sighed. "I know, and maybe it's true. But I have to admit, I really don't want to go downstairs if something like that is there." He bit his lip. "I guess maybe we'll have to try, but . . ."

"Why?" Yami Bakura cut in. "If finding the other tower doesn't bring about the ending, we'll know about it. Until then, I see no sense in deliberately seeking out a room where that demon could have his fill of physically torturing us when he's already emotionally torturing us!"

Yugi nodded. "I'd rather avoid it if we at all can."

"Me too," Bakura exclaimed with wide eyes.

Joey looked to Tristan. "I can't believe you really want to look around for a torture chamber, Tristan."

"Of course I don't," Tristan shot back. "I just said the basement, dungeon, whatever it's called. But I don't really want to go down there at all since I'm sure I know what we'd find. I just hope that going down there isn't something we need to do."

"So let's all keep hoping and start trying to find that other tower," Téa insisted.

"I agree. Where should we look?" Bakura pushed himself off the couch.

"On the main part of the third floor, most likely," Yami Bakura said.

"And let's just hope we've conquered all the things that go bump in the night up there," Joey muttered. "We stopped looking after that wall fell on me."

Bakura started. "What?! How horrible!"

"There are traps everywhere," Yugi said. "We'll just have to be on guard every minute."

And they all were, as they headed down the path leading to the stairs to the second floor and then to the third floor from the second. All was quiet; no enemy Duel Monsters came out. But that only made everyone worry more, not less.

"So what do we do? Open every door up here until we find another staircase or something?" Joey said with a suspicious look around the hall.

"Pretty much, I suppose," Bakura said. He opened a door and stepped aside just in case anything came flying out of the room at him. When nothing did, he cautiously advanced and peered inside. "This is a bedroom. . . ."

"There's another bedroom over here," Tristan announced. "Man, this level is probably more bedrooms than anything else!"

A clattering of wooden objects sent everyone whirling around to stare at the door Joey had opened. Brooms and mops were all over the floor, with another mop on Joey's head. He scowled. "And this is the broom closet. Great." He brushed the mop away.

"There isn't possibly a secret panel on the back of that wall, is there?" Bakura asked.

Joey felt around. "I can't find anything."

Yugi headed down the hall. "Let's keep looking."

But more doors only opened into other bedrooms, and once, some type of den. Yami Bakura finally growled in irritation.

"Obviously, now we'll have to start checking each room for secret panels," he said. "There has to be one somewhere."

"And more traps," Téa moaned. But she knew he was right; they had to keep looking.

It was strange how most rooms had their lights already on. But it had been accepted, and when they reached a bedroom at the end of the hall without lights, right away that seemed ominous.

"Why is this room in darkness?" Yami Bakura growled.

"The bulb burned out or the candle ran down?" Joey shrugged.

Bakura reached inside for the light switch. "It's off," he reported. "I'll just switch it on. . . ."

But as soon as he flipped the switch, he went stiff and screamed in horrific pain. Blue electricity charged over and across his body, visible to everyone there. Some could only stand and watch in sickened disbelief, frozen, knowing they could do nothing when they didn't know where the fusebox was. Most likely, it was in the basement.

Yami Bakura ran back to the broom closet, shoving rubber gloves on his hands and picking up the nearest broom. Then he ran back, pushing Bakura away from the light switch with the handle of the broom. The boy went limp, the connection broken. Yami Bakura threw the broom away and caught Bakura in his arms as he fell. Of course it was too late. But he had still had to act. He couldn't have let Bakura keep staying there, the cruel electricity frying his body to its next death. . . .

"Bakura," he whispered, cradling the lifeless form in his arms. "Not again. . . . Please . . . not again. . . ."

But Bakura was still.

_True Reality_

"Oh man, seriously?" Tristan stared. "That creep! He gets more sick every time he sends us back to the beginning!"

Yami Bakura was tightly clenching his fists now, the anger and pain strongly flashing through his eyes. Bakura gave him a worried look and gently took one of the clenched fists between his hands. Yami Bakura started and looked up at him, then slowly relaxed to see he was well. Even though he knew it, it was all too easy to be lost in the grim picture Atem was painting.

"I think here I'll timeskip," Atem said. "I wanted to tell enough so you would see the good that was coming out of this nightmare in the form of all of you bonding, but I don't want to weigh your hearts down with tales of every single death and reset."

"Timeskipping sounds good to me," Joey said. "Only, you are going to tell how we actually beat the game and got out of there, aren't you?"

"Oh yes," Atem said. "The story would be pointless without that."

_True Night_

Yami Bakura stood on the balcony of one of the upstairs bedrooms, looking out over the world of Dark Sanctuary. Every eye seemed to be looking at him, taunting him. Every mouth appeared to be leering, mocking him for being trapped in this world.

He had dueled with the Dark Sanctuary card in the past, trapping Atem in its clutches. But it hadn't been a Shadow Game; the world hadn't been real. This time it was. And he had the dubious position of the world's ruler.

Of course, he was more like a figurehead. Yami Marik was the true ruler of Dark Sanctuary. He was merely a puppet, forced to act on the script Yami Marik had set forth. Everyone was just a pawn in that fiend's plan. Especially Bakura.

Poor Bakura. . . .

Yami Bakura had watched the boy die in countless cruel ways by now. In one respect, it was very similar to when it had happened over and over again while Yami Marik had held him prisoner. But this was worse. Those times had only been in his mind, with fake Bakuras. This was the real Bakura.

He leaned on the balcony with both elbows, digging his hands into his hair. They all knew the castle quite well by now, and where to find most of the booby traps. Time proceeded for quite some time these days before it reset—sometimes from an accident, sometimes from time apparently running out. Sometimes they needed a bit of privacy, as he did now, and went off alone to think. The longer they were trapped, forced to repeat the nightmare again and again, the more everyone's sanity was slipping. The kids all tried to tell themselves that it wasn't real, that it was a Shadow Game and all in their minds, but that only worked for so long and so many deaths. They could only be shot or stabbed or impaled a certain number of times before they couldn't take it anymore.

Bakura continued to remember each reset, but strangely, whenever he was the one who died, he didn't remember that, nor many of the events that led up to it. No one wanted to tell him.

Yami Bakura was older than any of them. He knew the nature of the Shadow Realm better than any of them. He had lived with the personification of the darkness in human hearts for three thousand years. He had been brutally tortured by Yami Marik. One might think that he would give in to madness and despair to have it happen again. Part of him felt that he was. He kept telling himself it was a Shadow Game as well, but that wasn't much of a help as time went on.

What happened if they decided they couldn't take it any more and they wanted out? Would the game end, transporting them back to reality? If it did, would it be their unwanted reality, with Bakura dead from Yami Marik's blast? Obviously it had been some sort of magic blast, if a Shadow Game had the power to reverse it.

Or did it? What if they did win and thought everything would be alright, only to discover that the Bakura with them only existed in their minds and the real Bakura was still laying dead where he had fallen on the sidewalk?

Yami Bakura shook his head. No, he couldn't believe that. He had to believe that Bakura was alive and that he could and would stay alive. That was the only thing holding his sanity together. Maybe it was the only thing holding all of their sanity together. After all, they were all in this for Bakura.

"Yami?"

Yami Bakura turned, questioningly, as Bakura came out on the balcony. The old thief rested one hand on the railing, eyeing the boy up and down as he replied. "What?"

Bakura shifted. "Why are you so sad?"

"Sad?" Yami Bakura snorted, as though that was the most ridiculous thing to say, and turned away. 

"I know you are. It's about more than just us being trapped here, isn't it?"

A weary rise and fall of the old thief's shoulders. He was tired . . . so tired . . . and after all this time his tongue was more loose because of that fact. "If you must know, yes."

"Then what is it, Yami? What's wrong?" Bakura asked in concern.

"Right now, it's right." Yami Bakura shook his head. "If it could only stay that way. . . . If only time would move without bringing that unwanted reality with it. . . ."

"What unwanted reality?!" Bakura leaned over to try to see into Yami Bakura's eyes, but the thick bangs and the night's shadows hid them.

At last Yami Bakura looked up, and the weight of countless agonies was seen in his brown eyes. "It doesn't matter right now," he said. "Don't talk about it. Just enjoy the moment."

It was such a haunting and unusual scene that Bakura was shaken. He bit his lip, finally just nodding. "Alright."

"Good." Yami Bakura half-turned again, but he visibly relaxed.

And Bakura wondered why he had the sense that this conversation had played out before.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to adapt the manga thing of Yami Bakura being around since Bakura was small for my anime verse, as it opens up so many interesting scenarios.

_True Night_

Yugi and the others were exhausted. Most of them were gathered around an oval conference table they had discovered on one of the previous time resets. Yugi was studying the key he had found so many turns back. Joey was tracing a pattern on the smooth surface with a finger. Téa was slumped against a chair, blankly watching the proceedings.

"So where's Tristan?" Joey frowned.

"Who knows," Téa sighed. "I hope he's not finding another trap."

"Like we missed any?" Joey snorted.

Yugi held the key by the top while twirling it on the table on its bottom. "Well, we know we've missed something," he insisted. "The way out is still out here . . . somewhere. . . ."

"I wonder if any of us really believe that by now," Joey grunted.

"We can't lose hope," Téa said quietly. But from the tone of her voice, she was struggling with exactly that problem.

"We're not going to," Yugi vowed. His shoulders slumped. He knew he sounded hollow. He felt the same as he sounded.

"You know what's weird?" Joey remarked. "I think Yami Bakura held out hope longer than any of us."

"He still has hope," Téa protested. "He can't give up on Bakura. And neither can any of us."

"But where do we look now, Téa?" Joey countered. "You know we've been over every square inch of this crummy place! Thirty times over!"

"Then there has to be something we've overlooked," Téa insisted. "Isn't that right, Yugi?" She shot a look of desperation at her oldest friend.

"Well . . ." Yugi squirmed to be put on the spot. "That's the way it's supposed to work, yeah. . . . But I can't think of anything we've overlooked."

"Of course not," Téa retorted. "That's why it's been overlooked!"

Joey slumped back in his chair. "So what now? I guess we round up the others and go on search number #999?"

Yugi stood. "I think so. Come on, guys. . . . Maybe this time we'll really make it!"

"Yeah, and maybe we'll get crushed between two walls or fall out a window," Joey said. "If we're lucky, maybe we'll just get knocked on the head right away."

Téa got up. "We have to believe we'll make it out somehow," she protested.

"That's the problem, Téa—none of us do any more," Joey said.

"That's probably just what Yami Marik wants us to think," Téa said. "He wants us to give up hope!"

"And it's working," Joey said.

Yugi stuffed the key in his pocket. It was hard to counter Joey's words, or Téa's. He agreed with both of them. He just hoped everyone else would be easy to find. Now that they had uncovered most, if not all, of the dangers, they often wandered about, like Tristan was doing now. With the castle being so huge, it was very easy to not be found for hours at a time.

Just as he did on every round, Yugi silently prayed that this would be the final repeat and they would at last be returned to the real world. Then, taking a deep breath, he headed for the door. "Let's go," he beseeched.

Joey and Téa followed, despite their feelings of hopelessness.

****

By now Yami Bakura and Bakura had gone back downstairs to the great hall. No one else was there at the moment, and with the room to themselves, they went over to the couch.

Yami Bakura sank into it with a weary sigh. So many times he had been here, watching over Bakura, waiting for him to wake up . . . arguing with the others. . . . It seemed a lifetime ago that they had been free, that he hadn't had to wonder what death was waiting for them just around the corner.

Bakura sat down next to him. "You look so tired, Yami," he said softly.

Ordinarily he would deny it. But right now, he just didn't have the strength. "That isn't surprising under these circumstances, is it?" he grunted.

"No," Bakura said. "I just wish I knew something to do to help you . . . to help all of us. . . . It's been such a neverending nightmare for us. . . ."

Yami Bakura looked to the boy he had come to love so dearly . . . the boy he was enduring all of this Hell to save. The boy who made all of this worth it, as long as there truly was hope for his survival. . . .

"Someday, perhaps, the nightmare will end," he said at last.

Bakura leaned against the couch, looking at him. "I wonder what Father is doing," he mused. "Does he even know we're gone?"

"Has time even passed in the real world?" Yami Bakura returned. That was something he had wondered many times since this horror had started.

"Oh . . . I wonder if it has," Bakura blinked.

"We have lived a thousand nights in this purgatory," Yami Bakura said, staring off at the opposite wall, "but perhaps only scant seconds have passed back in Domino City."

"You're so tired, Yami," Bakura said. "You should rest."

"So should you," Yami Bakura retorted. "It's obvious you're exhausted as well."

"Sleep does sound nice," Bakura mused. "Maybe . . . possibly . . . if we sleep, we'll wake up in the real world. . . ."

Yami Bakura doubted it.

He started in surprise when Bakura laid down across the couch, his head on the thief's lap. He hadn't expected that. But he certainly didn't mind it, either. He brought an arm around the boy's shoulders, feeling him go slack as he dozed.

_Ah, if only we could awaken in the real world. It would never be that simple._

His thoughts wandered as Bakura slept.

****

Tristan wasn't sure what he expected to see when he wandered into the great hall, but it wasn't especially the sight of Yami Bakura sitting on the couch, staring off into the distance while Bakura stretched out on the couch, his head resting on Yami Bakura's lap. Every now and then, Yami Bakura absently ran his hand over the boy's hair like one would with a small child.

"You know, someone could totally get the wrong idea coming in on a scene like this," Tristan remarked.

Yami Bakura grunted. "I don't care."

"You would have once," Tristan muttered. Yami Bakura was still a prideful man, but this experience had worn him down a great deal. He was obviously no longer too prideful to show affection. He had lost Bakura so many times during this Hell that he was savoring their time together all the more . . . even while he feared and dreaded whatever way Bakura would be harmed next.

Yami Bakura ignored Tristan's comment. Instead, he looked down at Bakura. The boy looked so innocent and almost carefree while he was asleep. . . .

Tristan looked too. "Did he really lay down like that or did you put him like that after he fell asleep?"

"He willingly did it." Yami Bakura gazed down at Bakura as the memories from several moments ago swirled through his mind. Maybe Bakura wanted the same togetherness that Yami Bakura did, after all the heartbreak and pain.

"It's hard to picture Bakura doing that," Tristan said.

"Not to me." Yami Bakura studied the weary boy. He hoped that the past resets wouldn't manifest themselves in Bakura's dreams. Bakura needed at least that time to be at peace.

"I mean, he's so reserved," Tristan said. "I can picture him saying how something like that just wouldn't be proper."

"Heh. He would. But right now he didn't care anymore." Yami Bakura stared into the distance again. "We knew each other for a longer time than he may have led you to believe."

Tristan blinked in surprise. "I thought you didn't show up until after his mother and sister were dead."

"I didn't," Yami Bakura agreed. "But he was younger when that happened than you may have realized."

Tristan stared at him, and a slight shiver went up his spine. He hadn't expected that at all, and for some reason it disturbed him. "What do you mean?" he asked. "If Bakura was really young when you showed up . . ."

"He was too young to be afraid of me," Yami Bakura said. "Strangely . . . awkwardly, he liked me at first." He looked away with a scowl. "I, of course, had no idea how to handle such a situation. I had been fused with Zorc's spirit for three thousand years, really thought I was Zorc at least sometimes, and suddenly I revive in the modern age in a child's body and discover that the child, instead of finding me fearsome, is glad to not have to be alone any more. His father wasn't traveling yet, but he spent hours at the museum and left Bakura in the care of a baby-sitter for much of the time. The sitter wasn't very attentive. I found myself having to look out for Bakura in such scenarios as him taking a bath. That idiot sitter just left him in the tub when the doorbell rang!"

Tristan was definitely creeped out, but also saddened. "So . . . what happened?"

"I scared her off," Yami Bakura sneered. "I could take care of Bakura far better than she could, and I didn't even have a body of my own at that time."

Tristan shuddered. "Why doesn't this surprise me?"

"We had a very odd existence," Yami Bakura grunted. "I had to look out for him, because of course I needed the body, and at night I'd be trying to sleep in my soul room and suddenly he would wander in from his and want to be with me instead of being alone. Sometimes I tried to shoo him off, but then he would get upset and cry. And I . . . really didn't know how to deal with that." He scowled. "There wasn't much I could do until Yugi appeared and my search for the Millennium Items could really get underway. By that time, Bakura was old enough that he had gradually started to hate me for my intrusion in his life—or so we believed. Of course, I told myself that was perfectly alright, that I would rather he fear and hate me. It was just too uncomfortable and awkward otherwise. But . . ." He looked back down at Bakura. "If I had been honest with myself, I missed the childlike acceptance and love."

Tristan slowly walked over to the couch. "Bakura never said anything about this. I mean, you'd think when he tries so hard to get everyone else to like you that he might have mentioned you were around way back then and tried to look after him when he was a kid."

A shrug. "He talked about me looking out for him. He just didn't get specific about the time period. Anyway . . . I wonder sometimes if he didn't subconsciously block out those early memories. I have the sense that he doesn't remember. After he grew bitter towards me, he probably didn't want to remember."

"Yeah, maybe not." Tristan leaned on the couch arm.

"On the other hand, at times like this . . . I think part of him does remember." Yami Bakura rested his hand on Bakura's shoulder. "Right now, he reminds me of the child he was then."

"So . . . why are you telling me this?" Tristan asked.

"Heh." Yami Bakura smirked. "Who knows. I've never told anyone before. I suppose it's this place. We're all tired. Our sanity is slipping. We start behaving contrary to what is normal and expected of us."

Tristan sighed and folded his arms. "Makes sense." He paused. "I was up in the picture room."

"Reliving old memories?" Yami Bakura sounded heavily sarcastic now.

"I tried to count how many there are now. I couldn't." Tristan glowered off at the wall.

"And meanwhile, the walls down here are covered in cracks." Yami Bakura gave a dark chuckle. "And we still can't figure that out."

"Well, somehow it has to be the opposite of arguing," Tristan said, pushing away from the couch. "But it couldn't have to do with being friends or anything. And it's not the number of times we've started over. So what is it?!"

"Odd that Yugi and Téa don't have any theories," Yami Bakura said.

"They're trying," Tristan said. "I just wonder what happens if the castle suddenly caves in on us. Do we lose permanently . . . or do we win, and that ends the game?"

"It could be either way," Yami Bakura said.

"Hey, guys."

They looked up as Yugi, Téa, and Joey came into the room. Yugi and Téa didn't comment on the scenario, but Joey stared. "So . . . uh, what's up with Bakura?"

"He's resting," Yami Bakura said flatly in a tone that dared Joey to protest.

"Okay, okay," Joey retorted. "Just asking." He sighed. "Sleep sure sounds good right now. Have any of us slept since this crazy night started?"

"Not much," Yugi sighed.

Téa leaned on her staff. "We were just trying to figure out what parts of the castle we haven't explored yet."

"Mostly we haven't tried the highest tower," Yami Bakura said, "and only because we're still trying to figure out how to get up there." The castle was a strange series of twists, turns, and almost maze-like hallways. It had taken countless repeats to uncover all that they had, just as Yugi had feared it would. And Yugi had broke down many times during this Hell, unable to bear the agony of seeing his loved ones hurt over and over.

"I still think the cracks are important," Tristan said. "But how?!"

A Curse of Dragon flew past the window and struck it hard with one wing. It shattered, and glass soared in all directions.

"Joey!" Téa exclaimed. She swooped in to block the attack, redirecting the glass shards with a blast from her staff.

Joey looked up with a start. "Thanks, Téa. Yeah, the last thing I need is to be plucking glass out of my skin. . . . Hey!"

Everyone looked up with a jerk. Joey was pointed at the wall. A new crack was making its way down several stone bricks.

"That's it," Yugi breathed. "The missing piece. The cracks represent self-sacrifice and trying to protect each other! Each time one of us does something to help one or more of the others, a new crack forms!"

Téa perked up. "That makes perfect sense! There were always new cracks in the walls after a reset where one of us sacrificed our safety to protect one of the others!"

Joey blinked in surprise. "Yeah? Alright! So does that mean we've just gotta perform a certain number of selfless acts and the spell will break?!"

"No. . . . There has to be another missing piece." Yami Bakura leaned back with a frown. "As Téa pointed out, most of our self-sacrificing acts end up with one of us dying and time resetting. That demon said we have to all make it out alive for the spell to end."

"That's true," Téa remembered. She looked down, her shoulders slumping. "I thought we finally had something here. . . ."

"We still do," Yugi insisted. "Yami Bakura is probably right; there must be a little more to it. But we've uncovered a vital clue! We probably only didn't figure it out before because there aren't any booby traps in this room and it seems to be the only one where the cracks form."

Yami Bakura looked down at Bakura. Yami Marik no doubt wanted to torment all of them, but he couldn't help thinking that he was probably the main target. Yami Marik was still angry that Yami Bakura was actually recovering from nearly being broken by him. And he was more than a little sadistically amused by the knowledge of Yami Bakura's caring and love for Bakura. If he could set up a game to put Yami Bakura through the wringer, and incidentally drag several others into it along the way, he would jump at the chance.

But if he was right, and he was the main target, then what if the only way out was . . .

"Hey." Tristan was looking at him with a frown. "Are you okay? You look upset."

He started and looked to him. "Fine," he growled.

Tristan folded his arms. "If you've figured something else out, you'd better share it with us. We're all in this together."

"Well, isn't that touching," Yami Bakura said dryly. "No, I haven't figured anything else out." _It's just a theory. And the way things go, I'll probably have a chance to test it very soon. Bakura . . . forgive me . . . one more time. . . ._

Bakura stirred then, as if awakened by Yami Bakura's thoughts. "Oh . . . oh my. Did I really go to sleep like this?" He sat up, blinking away the sleep as he took in the sight of Yugi and the others all gathered around. He went red.

"Yeah, you really did," Tristan said.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Yami Bakura grunted.

"Well, so what are we gonna do now?" Joey wondered. "Try yet again to get up to that last tower and see if the final clues are there?"

"We might as well," Yugi said. "There's really nothing left to try."

"The answer has to be there somewhere," Téa insisted. "We know the tower is there, so why wouldn't it be accessible like the others?"

"Good point," Joey relented. "Let's go up that way and give it another shot!"

They headed out of the hall and down the sixth path, then up the stairs to the second floor. No one knew quite what to say; it seemed that they were all spent.

"Yami?" Bakura asked as they climbed the next flight of stairs, up to the third floor. "What are you thinking?"

Yami Bakura just shrugged. "I'm . . . remembering."

Bakura ran his hand over the balcony railing. "Remembering," he said softly, sounding far away.

Yes . . . remembering. That one cruel trip up a flight of stairs . . . the Crass Clown that came at them. . . . Yugi fighting it to protect Yami Bakura, of all people, and falling over the balcony with it. . . .

Their investigation of the second and third floors. . . . Joey's death protecting Bakura from a falling wall. . . .

Tristan had died after being infected by a Vampire Duel Monster. That . . . hadn't been pleasant in the least, especially since Yami Bakura had been forced to kill him with a stake before he could attack all of the others. Perhaps once Yami Bakura would have found such a situation darkly amusing, but not then. Not now. . . .

Téa had sacrificed herself shielding the others in a magical barrier when Zombie Duel Monsters had attacked. . . .

And all the times and ways Bakura had died, sometimes to save the others, sometimes as a cruel accident. . . .

Yami Bakura gripped the banister with one hand while clenching his fist with the other. No more of this. It would be the final reset; he would make sure of it.

They arrived on the third floor, but nothing came at them now. They were free to investigate for the secret way into the tower.

"We've been over these walls so much," Bakura mused. "We've never found any clues. . . . But . . . what's this?" He poked at a stone brick in the wall that groaned and moved inward.

"What the heck?" Tristan looked over. "What did you just do, Bakura?"

"Well, I . . ." Bakura straightened and stepped back as a panel moved upward, revealing a spiral staircase at long last. "I just pushed that stone. . . ."

"Isn't it weird we didn't see that before?" Tristan frowned.

"Not necessarily," Yugi said. "Maybe it wasn't even there before. Some games won't even yield certain clues unless you've cleared other challenges first."

They gathered and stared up at the stairs.

". . . I guess this is really it," Téa gulped. "We've uncovered everything else. This is the last thing to do. The way out has to be up there! It has to be!"

"So let's go!" Joey exclaimed.

Everyone started up the stairs. Lit torches along their way flickered, casting eerie shadows across the walls as they went up, up, towards whatever final fate was set for them. Yami Bakura was sure he knew what it would be. He had managed to get in ahead of the others, but at the top he found a closed and locked door. He growled.

"Oh great. Now what?!" Joey cried.

"Don't lose heart yet! It looks like maybe the key I found will fit here!" Yugi exclaimed. He took it out of his pocket and handed it to Yami Bakura, his eyes shining in anticipation and hope.

Yami Bakura allowed himself to hope too. He put the key in the lock and turned it. The door swung open. Yami Bakura hurried inside before any of the rest could slip past him and get in first.

"Well, welcome." Yami Marik swiveled around on a stool in the otherwise bare tower room and sneered at them.

Joey roared. "You!"

"Why, who did you think would be waiting for you when you finally arrived at the final stage?" Yami Marik grinned.

Yami Bakura glowered at him. "So you are the boss monster. That is just what I thought would be the case."

"Oh, is it?" Yami Marik mocked. "And can you figure out what the final price is for your freedom?"

"I have some idea," Yami Bakura replied.

Everyone looked to him with a start. "Yami?" Bakura blinked. His eyes shone with worry. From his expression, he had the sinking feeling that he was not going to like this at all.

Tristan glowered. "You were thinking about something big!" he accused. "Why didn't you say something?! We're supposed to all be in on this together!"

Yami Marik just folded his arms and watched, entertained. "Well, if you're so sure you know my final price, why don't you enlighten all of us?"

"I am your price," Yami Bakura said, glowering steadily at his hated enemy.

"What?! No!" Bakura cried in horror.

"That can't be right!" Yugi exclaimed. "The deal is that we'll all get out of here alive!"

"The deal was for you all to make it up to me alive." Yami Marik made a face at Yugi. "Yes, all of you can go, but he stays."

Bakura stared in disbelieving anguish. "No . . . no, I won't go without you, Yami! I won't!" He ran over, grabbing the man's arm.

Yami Bakura snarled, pulling free. "Don't be an idiot! This is your ticket out. You can live, Bakura! That was what all of this was about—making certain you would live!"

Bakura fell back in shock. "W-What?!"

"It's true, Bakura," Joey said. "Yami Marik killed you and stuck us all in here as a way to save you. We've been goin' at it over and over, trying again each time we fail. You know that none of us even know any more how long we've been in here."

Bakura swallowed hard, clearly reeling. "All of this . . . so much suffering . . . all for me. . . ."

Yami Bakura drew a ragged breath. So much suffering, yes. . . . And so much understanding that had come out of it, ironically enough. Yugi's determination . . . Joey's stubbornness . . . Tristan's spirit . . . Téa's faith. . . . And most of all, Bakura's heart. It had been amazing enough for him to come to care about Bakura after the long years of hatred and pain and madness. But now he was realizing that they had all come to mean a great deal to him. He didn't want any of them to suffer now. Still, he wasn't about to say that in front of Yami Marik.

"My life has always been mostly about pain," he said now. "This won't be anything new to me. Go, Bakura. Go back to the real world with your friends. Knowing you are alive and safe . . . that will be enough for me."

But Bakura shook his head. "No. . . . How could I be happy knowing you're trapped back here with this horrible thing?!" He blinked back tears. "You did all of this for me. Don't you think I would do the same for you?!"

"I know you would," Yami Bakura said tiredly. "But I don't want you to." He looked to the others. "You should all go now. Take Bakura and leave."

"And you'll just stay here?!" Tristan exclaimed.

Yami Bakura gave a weary shrug. "I am the price for your freedom. Yes, I will stay to set all of you free, not just Bakura."

"Well, we're not going to let you," Téa cried.

Yami Bakura started. "What?!"

"The deal was that we'd all get out," Téa said. "There was nothing about holding one of us hostage! We're not leaving without you too!"

Yami Marik stared. "What?!" Clearly he hadn't expected this himself.

Tristan nodded. "He hasn't done anything but try to help us. All of us, not just Bakura. I'm standing by him." He walked over next to Yami Bakura, his eyes narrowed in his determination.

"Me too," Joey insisted.

"And I am too," Yugi said.

Yami Bakura stared at them all in shock.

Yami Marik snarled. But before he could more intelligently reply, the floor rumbled underneath them.

"What's happening?!" Téa shrieked.

The group grabbed at each other, holding on tight as the floor crumbled and fell away. Everyone fell, down, down . . . until they hit the ground on their feet. The red sky of Dark Sanctuary fell away too, leaving them standing on a deserted street in Domino City.

"Guys," Yugi gasped, "we're back!"

"You mean, we broke the spell?!" Téa stared.

"Yes."

Everyone jumped a mile. Atem was coming down to them from the sky, smiling.

"Atem!" Yugi exclaimed. He ran over to his friend.

"Hello, Yugi. Everyone." Atem looked to the group and back to Yami Marik. "You didn't plan on this, did you? You didn't plan on their self-sacrifice gradually weakening your castle. You couldn't have planned on Yami Bakura finally being willing to give up his own freedom to save everyone else. And I know you didn't plan on everyone else actually rallying around him. It was these final two acts of self-sacrifice that finally shattered your spell! Now your power is gone. You will have to leave here, retreating once more to your cowardly shadows."

Yami Marik snarled, veins popping out across his face. "Very well then! I will leave. But I won't leave empty-handed! You're so determined to fulfill your duty as my price to save everyone else, Thief King? Then so be it!" A spear materialized in his hand and he lunged, driving it into Yami Bakura's chest before anyone could stop him. Immediately Yami Bakura reached up to grab at it, but it wouldn't budge.

Bakura screamed. "YAMI!"

Yami Bakura stared down at the weapon as blood oozed out over his hands. "This time . . . time won't reset." He fell backwards to the ground, his hands limply falling away.

Bakura crashed to his knees next to him. "Yami! Yami, please, no . . . no, you can't die! I won't let you! I won't!" He grabbed the spear, desperate to pull it out. When he couldn't, he sobbed, leaning forward to brush the hair away from the man's face. "Yami. . . ."

The others snapped to, running to join him. "None of us will let you die," Tristan insisted.

"He's not dead," Atem said. "Yami Marik is pulling the same cruel stunt he pulled to drag all of you into this mess."

They paused, looking to him in shock. "What do you mean, Atem?!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Bakura was never dead," Atem said gravely. "Yami Marik made you think he was dead so you would agree to play his game. Now he cast an illusion to make Yami Bakura think he was being stabbed."

Indeed, even as Atem spoke, the spear shimmered and disappeared. But Yami Bakura lay still.

"He's not getting up!" Bakura cried. "If the mind believes something is happening so thoroughly, it can make the body react accordingly! Maybe . . . maybe he believed he was dying, so . . . he . . . died. . . ." He stared down at his loved one's face. "Yami. . . ." He sobbed, again gently brushing the stray hair away. It was stubborn and kept falling back.

"What can we do?!" Téa blinked back tears, but they only returned. "We can't just leave him here . . . like this. . . . We can't lose him. . . . We were all supposed to come home. . . . All of us. . . ."

Yami Marik laughed. "One way or another, I'll have the last laugh."

"You're the only one laughing, you creep!" Joey snarled.

"Hmm. Well, there is a way to save him," Yami Marik sneered.

"Not another of your sick games!" Joey boomed.

"Well, here's the deal. If you agree to forget all your memories of this experience, I will release him from the spell I cast on him," Yami Marik said. "It's the same spell I cast to make you think Bakura was dead. I just decided to be . . . a little more dramatic this time."

"What?!" Joey stared. "Not that any of us want to remember all the dying we did, but we got really close during this mess! If we forget everything, that'll be taken away."

Atem snarled. "This is outrageous! What will it take to make you leave these poor people alone?!"

"I doubt anything could really make me want to do that," Yami Marik cackled. "If you want to save him, you'll have to agree to my terms."

Tristan clenched a fist. "But if we don't remember, we'll do all kinds of crummy things to him again. I care about him now. I don't want to forget that."

Atem heaved a sigh. "I don't have the power to break this new spell. I don't know if there is an alternate way. I'm sure there is. But what I can do is promise you that if you go through with his terms and forget, your hearts and your personalities will one day cause you to unite again. And when that happens, the seal on your memories may break and you will remember all that has happened here."

Bakura bit his lip. "I want to save Yami," he said softly. "Can't our caring for him break this spell?"

"We couldn't break the spell over you except by playing Yami Marik's sick game," Téa said softly. "Only then our friendship came through in a way we didn't expect. Maybe that will happen again."

Yugi nodded. "I'm sure it will."

"Alright." Joey glared at Yami Marik. "So we're pooling our strength and our friendship together to save him. You can try to take our memories, you big creep, but maybe it won't work. I don't think it will."

"Oh, I know it will!" Yami Marik laughed. He vanished in a cloud of purple smoke.

Yugi looked to Atem. "Are we really going to forget?"

"I don't know," Atem said. "Perhaps for a while." He hesitated, reluctant, but finally added, "And I must go."

"No," Téa protested. "Not already. . . ."

"Yeah," Joey added. "You just got back!"

Atem gave the group a bittersweet smile. "We will meet again. For now, you can be happy that you saved him." He vanished as well, into the light.

Yami Bakura stirred, his eyes slowly opening. "What . . ."

"Yami!" Bakura leaped into his arms, hugging him close. "Oh Yami. . . ."

Yami Bakura gazed up at Bakura in awe. They were in the real world now, the spell of Dark Sanctuary broken. Bakura was alive. They had won the Shadow Game.

For one moment before their memories were taken, everyone smiled, overjoyed that they had all made it out.


	14. Chapter 14

_True Reality_

Everyone gaped at Atem as he finished the tale. Silence reigned for one long moment . . . until it was broken by Tristan punching the wall.

"I can't believe it!" he cried. "We all got so close during that mess. It was the only good thing about it. And then that creep took our memories so we were right back where we started! I fought with Yami Bakura when the Neo-Orichalcos mess happened. I kept not trusting him and putting him down when Bandit Keith and the Rare Hunters showed up." He slumped forward, still digging his fist into the wall as he trembled. "I hurt him so much and it was all so unnecessary. We'd already got past all those feelings in Yami Marik's twisted game. But that loser just couldn't handle knowing that something he did caused something good to happen! He took it all away from us!"

"You did it to save me," Yami Bakura said quietly. "He didn't give you much choice." He growled to himself. "I shouldn't have allowed myself to end up in that position."

"There was nothing you could have done, Yami," Bakura insisted. "Yami Marik acted too fast." He laid a hand on his friend's hand. "He manipulated all of us throughout that whole horrible nightmare. I . . . I hardly know what to say, knowing all of you suffered so much for me."

"Don't say anything," Joey said gruffly. "We wanted to do it."

"That's right," Yugi nodded.

"And Atem was right," Téa realized. "We only just recently started all being united again. And our memories have started coming back."

"I kind of hope we don't remember all those deaths in every particular," Joey shuddered. "But I'd like to remember the good stuff, getting close and all that."

Atem smiled a bit. "I hope you will. But in any case, the fact that you are close again now is also something to cherish."

Everyone nodded.

"I'm so glad of it," Bakura smiled. "Atem was right that we would eventually unite again, even without those memories."

Yami Bakura looked thoughtful. "He was indeed."

Tristan turned back to look at him. "But . . . how can I see it that way? How can I be grateful considering everything that happened to get us to this point a second time? Everything I did that hurt you . . . when it didn't even have to happen all over again. . . ."

"There's nothing much that can be done about it now," Yami Bakura said gruffly. "You're right, it didn't have to happen. It only did because that demon was a poor sport. But since it did . . . I'm grateful that we drew close to each other even without those memories." He sneered. "I'm sure Yami Marik is having a temper tantrum right now, and that is a thought I highly relish."

Tristan sighed. "Okay, you've got a point there."

"Man, I wonder why none of us figured out that the meaning of the cracks was self-sacrifice," Joey frowned. "Either in the past or hearing the retelling."

"How would we have easily figured that out?" Yami Bakura retorted. "None of us thought that Yami Marik would make that a stipulation in any game of his."

" . . . Along those lines, I have to wonder," Téa said. "Did Yami Marik know that self-sacrifice would get us out of his sick game?"

"If he did, he must have believed we would never make it," Yami Bakura grunted. "He probably thought we would keep arguing and never see eye to eye long enough to come to care about each other. Had I known that was a prerequisite for our escape, I would have thought the same thing."

"Well, thank goodness you were both wrong," Bakura smiled.

They all felt the same.

****

Everyone was still shaken and sobered as the night wore on. One by one, each said Goodnight to Yugi and Atem and left the Game Shop. Bakura, walking alongside Yami Bakura to the van, was deeply troubled.

"Who would have thought my nightmare would lead to all this?" he said softly. "I can't believe I didn't realize that all of that was for me. I remember enough to know that it never once occurred to me that we were all trapped there because Yami Marik was tricking you into believing you had to save me."

"It never once occurred to me that maybe you had never died," Yami Bakura grunted, "so we're even." He got into the driver's seat. "I considered that maybe you were really dead and the you in the Shadow Game was a fake, although I never suggested that aloud."

"I'm sure you tried to distance yourself from such an idea with all your heart," Bakura said, climbing in on the passenger side.

"Yes, that is true," Yami Bakura agreed. "I didn't want to have to believe such an idea could be real."

"And it wasn't," Bakura smiled. "I was always really there."

"Which means you were always really suffering thanks to that fiend," Yami Bakura snarled. He started the engine and pulled away from the curb.

"At least we all had each other," Bakura said. "And we still do."

Yami Bakura couldn't deny that.

"I love you, Yami, and I know you and the others love me very much." Bakura smiled. "As for when I was very young, like you were telling Tristan on the last reset . . . I do remember those times." He looked at his friend with fondness. "You were always there looking out for me, even if at the time you thought your only reason was selfish. I know it wasn't."

"You're right," Yami Bakura admitted. "No matter how much I honestly told myself otherwise, it wasn't true. I was coming to care about you in spite of myself."

"I remember insisting on watching the cartoon version of Beetlejuice and how you reacted to that," Bakura chuckled. "First you were in disbelief over the title. Then you kept snarking about how the afterlife wasn't anything like what they were depicting. You insisted experiencing death had nothing to do with the body reanimating, or falling apart, since the whole point was a spirit that had separated from the body."

"It's true," Yami Bakura said.

"And I said I didn't care, that it was all fantasy anyway." Bakura smiled a bit. "But once I watched an episode that rattled me in spite of how I liked creepy things. I woke up screaming from a nightmare. Father was working late and he wasn't there . . . but you were."

"A poor source of comfort," Yami Bakura grunted.

"Not to me," Bakura said. "You did comfort me, and it meant a great deal to me." He smiled.

"Well, that's something then," Yami Bakura said gruffly. "I probably thought I was just getting you to be quiet so I could go back to sleep."

"I'm sure you did," Bakura chuckled. He sobered. "It really was nice, though . . . having you there during those years. I was so young, I didn't understand that I should really be afraid of you for intruding in my body. I needed someone so badly and I had someone. That was all that mattered to me."

"Foolish boy," Yami Bakura muttered.

"Well, I did start to realize differently when I got older," Bakura said. He traced a pattern on the door arm with a finger. "It really wasn't a good thing to get possessed, even though it meant I was never alone. You were right that I tried to block the good memories. I never really did, though. . . . I just refused to think about them and tried to pretend they hadn't happened. I couldn't properly hate you if I thought about them. And I'd be all confused. I think after a while, I started believing myself that they hadn't happened and that you came when I was much older."

"Heh." Yami Bakura turned into their driveway and leaned out the window to electronically open the garage. "And I was trying hard not to think about them either. If I did, that confused me. I wasn't supposed to come to care about my host body's spirit. He was only supposed to be the means to an end. But . . ." He drove into the garage and shut the door behind them. "You made it just too impossible not to like you and care about you."

Bakura smiled. "I'm glad." He undid his seatbelt and started to get out of the car. "I suppose as a child, I wasn't just blindly latching onto you because you were there. I must have honestly seen the goodness in you."

"You must have," Yami Bakura agreed. He took the keys over to the back door and unlocked it.

Oreo was right there to greet them as they walked inside. She ran over, meowing and rubbing against them both.

Bakura chuckled and picked her up. "And Oreo always has too."

Oreo purred, nuzzled Bakura, and reached out a paw to Yami Bakura.

"Cat," Yami Bakura grunted. But he petted her.

"We make a nice family," Bakura said.

Yami Bakura certainly wouldn't have admitted that once, or even admitted that they were a family at all. But he wouldn't deny it or be sarcastic about it now.

"Yes," he mused. "Oddly enough, we do."

Bakura hesitated. "We may keep regaining memories more and more," he said slowly. "There may be more nightmares tonight featuring some of them."

"So?" Yami Bakura flatly asked.

"Well . . . I hope I won't wake you up screaming," Bakura said.

"I hope not as well," Yami Bakura retorted, "but if you do, it will be completely understandable. The Pharaoh didn't even tell us everything; who knows what disasters happened that he timeskipped over. You may start remembering some of those."

He of course would never say it, but he privately wondered if he would be the one to wake up violently from a nightmare. Hopefully, he thought, it would not happen—not so much for his pride, but because he didn't want to remember any of the other times Bakura had died during that Hell.

"Oh dear," Bakura said, drawing him back to the present. "Well, I hope I won't. I know that would be very distressing for you, Yami."

"I doubt it would be very pleasant for you either, you dolt," Yami Bakura snorted.

"It wouldn't be," Bakura softly admitted, "but what would hurt most is knowing how it would hurt you . . . and how it must have hurt you and the others in the past." He sighed. "I must admit, I don't really even feel like going to bed yet."

Yami Bakura didn't either. "Then what do you want to do?"

"I'm not sure," Bakura said. "If we sit up and talk, we'll probably just keep thinking about this more and more. Anything we say will probably lead back to it. And right now, I really want to think about something else."

"Honestly, anything we do could lead back to it," Yami Bakura pointed out. "If we try to watch something, and it's anything decent, it will most likely have scenes that will remind us of what happened. The same thing is likely true if we try to play a video game."

Bakura had to smile ruefully at that. Yami Bakura was no doubt right. He would never have the patience to watch something that didn't have a lot of action and probably some deaths. And video games, with the numerous ways a character could die, would lead back to the same problem.

"I have an idea," he said. "Why don't we watch something like The Lord of the Rings? There's action and . . . well, violence, but the main theme is friendship."

Yami Bakura looked at him in disbelief. "You plan to be awake for three hours?!"

"We'll shut it off if we get tired," Bakura said.

Yami Bakura shrugged. "Very well." He had to admit that he was alright with watching those films. He enjoyed the action, and whereas once he would have scoffed at and mocked the deep friendships, now he knew such friendships really were possible in real-life. One of them had saved him before, and several had saved him more recently.

Bakura smiled and headed into the living room.

Soon they were settled on the couch with The Fellowship of the Ring. And while Yami Bakura had snorted at the idea of staying awake for three hours, it ended up that they both were. Sleep only started to overtake them as the movie headed into its ending credits.

Bakura yawned and smiled, snuggling against Yami Bakura as he dozed. "You and the others . . . were always there for me, Yami . . . just like Sam was for Frodo."

Instead of muttering about the mush, Yami Bakura drew an arm around Bakura and slumped back against the couch, hearing the words of the ending songs through the fog of oncoming sleep. Bakura's words were true . . . and he was glad of it. In some odd little way, they had formed their own Fellowship on their quest. It had been broken by their forced amnesia at the end, but now they all remembered again. And even before that, they had become united even without remembering. It amazed the old thief who had once forgotten how to love.

He remembered now.

That night, their dreams were only pleasant.


End file.
